Barbara Courtney Jaenicke (pronounced JAN-i-kee) loved to draw and paint as a teenager and desired at an early age to pursue a career of some sort in the art world. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1986 from The College of New Jersey (formerly Trenton State College), majoring in Art with an emphasis in Advertising and Design, while also studying fine art outside of her college studies. Her early career was spent in advertising as an art director, then later in a corporate marketing communications role. In 2002, she was able to turn her focus to a career in fine art, pursuing it full steam ahead, and continues to do so with stubborn determination.

Barbara works in oil and pastel, and strives to capture light-filled landscapes in an impressionist style. She holds Signature Memberships in the Oil Painters of America (OPA) and American Impressionist Society (AIS), and has earned the distinctions of Master Pastelist in the Pastel Society of America (PSA) and Eminent Pastelist in the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS).

Her award highlights include the Silver Medal in the 2019 OPA Western Regional Juried Exhibition, 2nd Place in the 2018 AIS National Juried Show, Plein Air Magazine's Plein Air Salon competition wins in August/September 2017 (Best Water) and April/May 2014 (2nd Place), multiple BoldBrush awards including First Place in November 2019 and Best of Show in March 2015, and the People's Choice award in the 2014 AIS Juried Exhibition. She has been featured in a variety of art publications including the Pastel Journal, Southwest Art, Artists Magazine, Plein Air Magazine and Fine Art Connoisseur, and has served as a contributing writer for some of these publications.

Barbara is a popular workshop instructor throughout the US, teaching numerous workshops coast to coast each year. Visit Barbara's website workshop page for details and her schedule, and also to find out about her instructional videos and monthly online lessons.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Barbara moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1992 where she lived for 23 years. In May 2015, she and her husband and son relocated to Bend, Oregon in search of inspiring landscape scenery...and snow, one of Barbara's favorite subjects to paint! Primarily a landscape painter, Barbara is now thrilled to paint the spectacular scenery of central Oregon.

"Painting isn't just a job or hobby for me. It's a passion. Maybe even an obsession. I try to paint the effect of the light in the landscape, and my response to it, rather than "things." To do this, I need to push beyond the basic mechanics of creating the work. No painting is ever easy for me. Each one challenges me to create that magic that goes beyond just a painting of a thing. That magic doesn't always happen in every single attempt, but it's those instances when the painting 'hits' that make it worth going through all the painful 'misses.'"