denver editorial photographer: artist session with jessica craig
Jessica Craig: painting atmostphere and balance
When you step into Jessica Craig’s studio at PRISM Workspaces, you can sense the quiet energy of work in progress. Jessica has been painting for nearly two decades, yet her path to art wasn’t entirely linear. Without traditional training, she came to painting through practice, curiosity, and a sheer love of creating. Over time, this dedication grew into a rhythm, and with each exhibition, each collaboration with collectors and designers, she came to identify more fully as an artist.
Her work is guided by atmosphere. She’s drawn to light, movement, and those intangible moments that shift how we feel in a space. In her paintings, contrasts hold equal weight: order and spontaneity, stillness and energy, structure and looseness. At their heart, her canvases are about balance, offering grounding and presence while leaving room for the imagination to wander.
denver editorial photographer - artist session with jessica craig
The Evolution of Her Palette
Early in her career, Jessica worked almost exclusively in black and white, fascinated by simplicity and contrast. Over time, she began to embrace color—not just as an accent but as a language of depth and emotion. That shift has opened her practice, allowing new layers of energy and movement to emerge. Her recent work feels expansive, nuanced, and deeply connected to the way color shapes mood.
She resonates with artists who balance abstraction and atmosphere—those who ground their work in visual structure but also leave space for interpretation. At PRISM, being surrounded by fellow artists continually pushes her forward, sparking ideas and encouraging experimentation.
The Rhythm of Studio Life
Jessica’s process is as much about atmosphere as her paintings. Depending on the day, her studio soundtrack might be worship music—something grounding and open—or the timeless melodies of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, or Billie Holiday, setting a flow that carries into her brushstrokes. Her art journals, warm-ups, and large-scale works all share this sense of rhythm: a dialogue between presence and movement.
A Breakthrough Year
This year has been an especially exciting one for Jessica. She exhibited at the Core Gallery PRISM show earlier in the year, followed by a show at 931 Gallery in the Santa Fe Art District. In August, she was honored with an award at the All Colorado Art Show at the Curtis Center. And this September, she’ll be part of Art on the Green in Greenwood Village, where she’ll showcase new work to a wider audience.
Looking ahead, Jessica is eager to push into new territory. Large-scale canvases are beginning to take shape in her studio, and she speaks about wanting to expand her work in both ambition and depth.
Capturing an Artist Becoming
For Jessica Craig, painting is less about arriving at an endpoint and more about staying open to the process—an ongoing conversation with light, color, and atmosphere. As a Denver editorial photographer I definitely respond to those things and photographing her was an invitation into that conversation. It was also a chance to reflect on not just the finished works on the wall, but the quiet persistence and curiosity that continue to shape her journey as an artist.
You can see more of Jessica’s work at: https://jessicacraigart.com
This ongoing series is a portrait of Denver + Colorado’s creative community. I visit artists in their studios where I spend time photographing, listening, and learning about their craft. Each session is both a collaboration and a conversation—an opportunity to explore how artists work, what inspires them, and how their practice evolves. For me, it’s also a way to hone my own storytelling as a Denver editorial photographer, weaving together image and narrative to capture not just the artwork, but the people, places, and ideas behind it.
