MUGI – My Unique Gift Idea

Born in Hong Kong in 1964, Jacqueline Fleming was raised and educated in Singapore and England.
Having adventurous parents was a plus for an adventurous spirit – Jackie and her family traveled extensively during her formative years, and young Jackie began to form the well-fueled muse from which she would, in the future, draw to create her art.

In 1986 she came to the U.S., initially living in Newport Beach, California.

There she spent eight years living on a boat and working in a local coffee shop. During this time she worked on doodling children’s illustrations in her then favorite medium – colored pencils.

In 1994, Jackie went to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Today her preferred medium is acrylics on canvas. She paints, in her off-beat signature style, not only what she sees outside her window but scenes from her past, from her mind’s eye – the high desert, tropical beaches, English row houses, green fields, and wacky characters for children’s nurseries.

In her own words:

“Many people ask me about the ‘meaning’ or sentiment behind my paintings. I find it hard to psycho-analyse, define or explain my work. Believe me, I’ve heard some people interpret one of my paintings and I’ve thought to myself, ‘You saw all of that in there? Man, I’m not nearly that complicated!’ I think paintings aren’t about the artist transferring his or her feelings to someone else. I think an artist paints for what they want to say but what the audience gets from the painting comes from within each of them. Each of us have different tastes, memories and backgrounds and that is what makes us respond to something in our own unique way”.