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| Born in
Burbank, California in 1949, I was raised by two very special parents who not only stayed
married for over 35 years, but also remained in love with each other throughout their time
together and beyond. With never a harsh word spoken, these wonderful people lovingly
raised six very gifted children. I was truly blessed. My three brothers, all handsome and talented, one in music, another is a computer genius and the third, magnificent in business. My two beautiful sisters, both talented artists in a variety of mediums. We derived our talent from our parents and their undying belief in us as capable human beings, allowed to try any intrument, ice skating, dance, drama and more, creativity was encouraged and praised. My childhood was a very happy one that I shall treasure to the end of my life. I started learning to draw in high school, more in college. I became fascinated with animation and spent some of my career working in an animation studio in Hollywood, California. It was my good fortune to be trained as an animation "inbetweener" in the '80's, in private classes of about six young artists by an animator who was a part of the animation team at Warner Brothers for over 40 years. During that period, it was also my pleasure to meet and have some discussion with Isador (Friz) Frleng, the famous animation producer. I started at the xerox machine at Animation Filmaker's Corporation, they were in the midst of producing the animated series "Future Flipper", I was a completely star struck young woman from San Diego. Continuing with my lessons and learning more every day, the result of my training and our "final exam" was to draw a "Captain Crunch" commercial. Completely intimidated by the vast talent that surrounded me, I continued to covet a career in animation. Working with my (now dear departed) friend, Nino Carbe, the outstanding background painter who worked on such classics as "Fantasia" with the Disney Studios (and many others too numerous to mention here), was the thrill of a lifetime for me. Margaret Kerry Brown ("Our Gang Comedies" as a child, original model for "TinkerBell" as a teenager) and her husband Ritchard Brown ran the show with the most exciting animation production staff, Daniel Pia, Production Manager ("Lord of the Rings", "American Pop", "Hey Good Lookin") who remains a dear and lasting friend to this day. Lifes catastrophes and other events brought me back to San Diego where my drawing became an escape into a beloved realm. Reality required other work to sustain myself and my two children and, sadly, for many years I did not draw. My creativity was not dormant, it came out in other art forms that I experimented with, but, alas left me longing for more. It was not until I reached this "twilight" time of my life that I became serious about painting. Self-taught with books and other publications, I am inspired by the story of the famous "Grandma Moses", who started to paint at the age of 99! I am very passionate about my painting, still have much to learn, and as I travel this road of creative expression, I thank my family for their love and support, and God for my gifts. Kathy R. Jensen (2002) |
