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Biography

Jessie Krause was born in New York City, NY and raised in Princeton, NJ. Her grandparents lived in Greenwich Village, where she would make frequent visits throughout her childhood.

Jessie went to Smith College in Northampton, MA, studied theater and journalism, then to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she enjoyed two years studying acting. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the Gallatin Division of New York University, where she studied painting with John Kacere. She is a lifetime member of the Art Students League, where she still studies with many of the faculty.

Jessie Krause has done art direction and production design for theater sets, advertising and music videos. She has taught art for many different age ranges and venues. She continues to do commissioned paintings, murals and special projects. Continually producing new work, she has had solo exhibits in New York, and is collected by many distinguished individuals and organizations.

Gramercy Park Artist

Between 2000 and 2006 I lived in Gramercy Park, New York, NY. My building faced the park, and I had a view of the Chrysler, MetLife, New York Life, and the very tip of the Empire State buildings.

I looked down on the park itself, and from the twelfth floor had a bird’s eye view of the flowerbeds, gravel paths, shed, statue, urns and people that made up this unique bit of New York.

I began by painting inside the park, able to leave my easel and paints, if I needed, to run inside for lunch. The park became a nurturing place for me to work, and I obsessed over every corner of it. Seeking an audience other than the pigeons and children that congregated around me as I worked, I eventually moved outside the iron gates, to the surrounding sidewalk. People began to stop and chat, and I discovered a diverse neighborhood of interesting, creative people.

One day I was asked if I sold prints or greeting cards of my work, which I had never thought of doing. After learning the rules for sidewalk selling, my card business began on the sidewalk of Gramercy Park. I would paint furiously all day, and then spend the evenings going to the print shop to make prints, large and small. I had a white umbrella from which the greeting cards were displayed.

Locals would stop by, usually with their dogs; poets wrote poems about my art, and recited them to me as I worked; musicians would play a song or two, photographers and tourists took pictures, the famous and homeless all had a word or two to say to me as I painted away.

Since the cards were selling at a healthy rate, I sent a few to the Barnes & Noble on Union Square. Six months later, they responded. I’m now in over 125 stores around the country!

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