Meet Jenny Grumbles | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jenny Grumbles and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jenny, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I thought I was going to be a reporter. Typically when I want something, I am all in in a sort of psycho-obsessed way. I was 22, working at a news station in San Diego, writing stories for anchors, but I wasn’t all in. I had been making and selling art for a few years and had this new love of treasure-hunting and decorating. I thought, I could make a business out of this. So, after I finished my news stories, I’d sit at the station and write the business plan to open a retail store called Uptown Country Home. A year later, I opened a shop in La Jolla where I sold vintage home decor, furniture I painted, and my art. For ten years that store was my absolute jam. I miss it every day. I put 110% into making it work, and it did, until I didn’t have 110% to give it anymore.

When my store was at its peak, it was because I could eat, sleep, and breathe my business. I tried to simultaneously go all in working for Obama’s campaign, filming Storage Wars Texas, painting commissions, and starting a family. Eventually it became too much and Uptown Country suffered. I probably should have hired a bunch of people to take over and/or sold the business, but I ended up just closing the doors and doing everyone’s new favorite 2020 word: I pivoted.

I rolled Uptown Country into booths at antique malls, painted everyone’s furniture out of my house while my baby was napping, took all the decorating side-jobs, said yes to any side-gigs from Storage Wars, and painted commissions at night. I thought, “my kiddo will just sit in his little baby carrier while I do all this work and I will make just as much money doing all these things.” Yah, no. He did not just sit and he needed me, so I pivoted again. Now my full attention is on making art and mom-ing.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I paint mostly people & places with an emphasis on light and color.

Most recently I discovered as I evolve as a human, I grow into a better artist. Being in touch with my emotions, embracing life’s struggles, and feeling my feelings takes my work to a deeper level. This is a huge lesson I have learned along the way.

Another huge lesson for me? Surround yourself with people who will lift you higher. The older I get, the more important that has become. And I think taking risks is huge. Obviously with art, but more importantly, with life. Like Eminem says, we only get one shot.

What am I most excited about? In addition to my fave thing right now of collaborating with other artists, I also collaborate with babies and kids.

When my son was about one, he started to paint with me. I was fascinated by his color choices and the intentional decisions he would make with his paint brush. At the same time, I. had taken the leap into painting modern art (thank you Dayme Walther). I thought about how beautiful it would be to let children create whatever they wanted, and then enhance it to be fine art. I call it fun art to fine art. Currently, this is a really big part of my business. I do not give them an art lesson or tell them what to do at all. I want it to be their creation. They are the inspiration. Whatever they create I am inspired by and build off of it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Ooooh this is so hard because Dallas has so much to offer, but like I said I LOVE a good shout out so I will tell you all of my obsessions or what I would do with friends in town.

Disclaimer: this particular list will be heavy on dining and workouts and light on culture and shopping. Dallas has SO many big, obvious spots that are definite hits for out-of-towners (Dealey Plaza, the Arboretum, Reunion Tower, Perot, The DMA, The Bush Library, Northpark Mall, Highland Park Village, White Rock Lake, Farmer’s Market, Klyde Warren Park, the Katy Trail – and this doesn’t even come close to a master hit list). I do not mean to discredit these by any means, but here I’m just sharing my local habitats.

Coffee at Civil Pour on The Hill. I order the Warlock.

In my dream world we would do a triple morning workout.
1. Hot Pilates at Shine (think super sweaty and dark dance party with weights and bands).
2. Soulcyle with Kevin Cummings (adrenaline high and life-lesson takeaways).
3. Rockin’ Yoga class at We Yogis in Lakewood (think hip-hop music meets meditation while your core is set on fire).

Lunch would 100% be at Bubbas in Snider Plaza. It’s an art-deco, fried-chicken diner that opened when I was a baby and still tastes, smells and feels exactly the same.

Snider Plaza also has my favorite Texas BBQ at The Douglas, which is a new spot my friend Doug Pickering opened. You can almost taste the passion he puts in to that food.

If we could, squeeze in a baseball game at the new ballpark, Globe Life Field. My love of baseball aside, a Dallas architect designed it in a way that lets in all this natural light. They used almost all Texas materials to. build it.

Dinner would be at Beverley’s, which Greg Katz named for his mom. I think he basically spent 20 years in South Africa, Tel Aviv and New York conjuring up his first restaurant in his head. So, he nailed the food and the vibe. I can’t put a finger on exactly why I feel this way, but it’s a special place for me to go to and the customer service is perfection. If we couldn’t get a table there, we would go get the steak frites with voodoo peppercorn sauce at Neighborhood Services on Lovers Lane. Or both, since we already worked out 3 times.

Scene after dinner would be the Clifton Club (also Greg Katz) next to Beverley’s. I also like that bar in the back room at The Charles. We would have to do live music at The Granada, The Kessler, or somewhere in Deep Ellum. And I love all the spots at the Thompson hotel.

If we got to do a staycation, the Adolphus, because it is a Dallas icon that is 100 years old but a zillion years cool. I love the design details in their renovation. I want to stay in one of the new rooms, but haven’t had a good excuse.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I absolutely LOVE giving a good shout out. My favorite thing right now is collaborating with people who I can create a meaningful connection with to enhance each other’s art.

Goldsheep:
Founder Keri Wilson created Goldsheep, a vibrant legging brand, because she wanted rad on art people’s legs. She wants to inspire & paint the world gold. Putting my paintings on her brand’s leggings is pure joy.
@goldsheepclothing

About Face Studios:
Silhouette artist Allyson hall is so precise with her scissors. We totally get each other so much it is scary. She takes my abstract paintings and cuts modern silhouettes out of them. The stuff she comes up with is next-level fun.
@aboutfacestudios

Mione Plant:
Engineer turned painter, Mione Plant, taught me how to be more vulnerable and intentional. It changed my work for the better. We collaborated on a painting and she made it available in her signature silk scarves.
@mioneplant

Jennifer Troice:
Jennifer Troice is a renowned sculpture artist. She lets me paint modern art on her bronze creations. Her story is as beautiful as her figures.
@jennifertroice.us

Dayme Walther Designs:
Dayme is one of those people where everyone is like, “How does she do it!?” We will never know, but her interior design talent is off the hook. She just turned my art into a wallpaper line that launches soon.
@daymewaltherdesign

Website: http://www.jgrumblesstudio.com

Instagram: @jennygrumbles_uptowncountry

Linkedin: jenny-grumbles

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennygrumbles

Image Credits
Angela Criston Pitts