Jaceena Shepard’s paintings are a mixture of contemporary realism and historical realism.  She paints mostly in watercolor but uses oil to paint her contemporary and vintage portraits.  She makes the most of watercolor’s fresh, vibrant nature through light, color and contrast and mixes them with her exciting compositions to create dynamic paintings.  She creates three dimensional depth and realism in her watercolor paintings by using the basic rules of linear and aerial perspective techniques. The most essential aspect of her art is that she paints what inspires her not what she imagines she should paint.  All of her paintings begin with a pencil drawing positioning the main features of her composition so the painting has a sense of balance. She then applies washes to her pencil drawing using transparent watercolor to build up the many layers of color, allowing the previous layers of color to shine through. Although she uses traditionally taught techniques, she refines and hones those techniques through hours of experimentation. She becomes totally empowered through her painting and this passion results in great self-actualization.