Jessie Y. Lee was born in Taipei, Taiwan.  She received a postgraduate degree in the pharmaceutical area in the U.S. and never dreamt about being an artist till recently  Since early childhood, she has always been keenly interested and motivated by music, crafts and art, and she has found great satisfaction in exploring and participating in these activities.

Jessie’s interest in painting began in 2005 when she assisted her teacher in a Chinese calligraphy demonstration for the Chicago Calligraphy Society.  After the demo, she received a hand-made thank you card with a neat watercolor drawing on the cover.  She was intrigued by the color pencil set used for making the card and bought a set of color pencils for her Europe trip that summer.

While staying in a farm house in Germany the first night, she discovered a beautiful garden from an upstairs window.  She stood by the window and completed her first painting, the Sunset Garden , using the color pencils that night. On the second day of the trip, she went to Switzerland and visited Nietzsche’s House.  While sipping beer and watching the Alps in front of her, she completed her second painting.  For the remaining one-week trip in Italy , she did one painting for each city she visited.  She even completed one for Venice on her flight back home.

After the 2005 European trip, her painting set and digital camera have become part of her travel essentials.  She quickly filled two sketch books as a travel log of fond memories from her visits to Japan, China , Canada , Europe and several regions of the U.S.   In 2008, she began taking oil painting and watercolor courses in the College of Lake County, Illinois.

She enjoys looking at the world with a sense of humanity, which harmoniously reflects her oriental roots and philosophy.  Jessie’s paintings are mainly inspired by the people she has encountered and the places that have touched her heart.

For each painting, she has written a unique biography to reflect her thoughts and feelings. Jessie wants to connect her inner world with everyone who enjoys her paintings and thoughts.  She is hopeful that her pursuit of spiritual sublimation through her art will result in a more profound meaning in life for her and for those who are attracted to her work.