Jenny Germann is a painter who works on wood — not because she set out to, but because wood was everywhere. Her husband is a cabinetmaker. Their house is full of offcuts, scraps, and salvaged pieces. At some point, she stopped walking past them and started painting on them.

That's how the practice began. Not with a concept, but proximity.

She burns into the surface first, then layers watercolor and gouache over the grain. The wood absorbs unevenly. It redirects color. It doesn't let her plan too far ahead. She starts with intention and leaves room for the material to decide how far that intention can go.

She paints doors. Gates. Paths you're about to walk through or just left. Rooms where the light is about to change. Most of her work lives in that in-between — the moment right before something shifts. Still deciding what stays, what fades, and what's allowed to remain unfinished.

Originally from Kansas, Germann has lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for more than fifteen years. She holds a BFA from the University of Kansas and an MS from Eastern University. She leads a foundation by day and is raising two kids who are already building worlds of their own. She paints when the house is quiet.

Her work is framed by her husband, cabinetmaker Evan Germann, and is available at Red Raven Art Company in Lancaster.