50 Over 50: 10,000 Hours Times 30 - Jennifer Scott's Portable Practice

Jennifer Scott has been drawing since she could hold a crayon. At 50, she's put in 10,000 hours of practice times 30. She knows what she's doing. She's not studying something anymore—her work is not a performance for others, it's just part of how she communicates.

Drawing with pen, being out and part of the world recording spaces—that's what keeps her excited. Her work moves between the immediacy of small black-and-white drawings and the expansive possibilities of large-scale paintings. The smaller works—pen-and-ink sketches often created from life—are portable, direct, and essential to how she processes reality. They fit into her bag, travel with her through daily life, and become the primary way she records the world around her.

In contrast, her large paintings allow her to expand outward, layering cultural references, historical narratives, and a mix of abstraction and representation. These works become immersive spaces where myth, memory, and place converge, drawing on both classical motifs and contemporary urban landscapes.

Here's the thing about her trajectory: she always loved drawing. She could draw for hours. But art classes and teachers valued painting, sculpture—she was pushed into those mediums because they were seen as more valid. Also things on a massive scale. She had to get a job to support her practice. Now her art is most of what she does. It's portable, she can do it anywhere, it's not precious, it can be reproduced, it's joyful, people interact with it.

The hardest part? Money. She has to make a living from what she's doing. Everything costs more. She doesn't have a retirement.

Does she try to keep up with trends? No. She's just doing what she does. "I'm a taste maker not a taste tester."

Does age matter? Yes. 10,000 hours of practice times 30. She knows what she's doing. She's not studying something, her work is not a performance for others, it's just part of how she communicates.

Her published books include Dogs of Fishtown, Cats of the Internet, and The A & E Stock Club, with the forthcoming Dogs of Manayunk. She's currently completing Beasts of the Riverwards and beginning new books based on Philadelphia's Italian Market and Graduate Hospital neighborhoods. She wants to do a series of interiors next.

Most of her work is small, portable and immediate. Her larger work is removed from the world and a place she can retreat into. Both are important thought spaces.

What sustains her is the rhythm between the intimate and the monumental—the quick gesture that captures a fleeting moment, and the deep dive into history and culture that creates lasting works of color and scale.

What would she tell her younger self? Nothing. She needed her life track to get where she is. But here's what she'd tell aspiring artists: that people's opinions—even those of important artists and critics—are not important. Art is personal. One must find their own practice.

People should do what they most want to do. What other people say about your work does not matter. Finding your people does matter.

Her artwork has been featured in Philly Voice, Philadelphia Magazine, MSN, and CEO Weekly. She continues to expand her creative practice with exhibitions, publications, and collaborations that bridge fine art with community storytelling.

Jennifer A. Scott is a Philadelphia-based artist known for her intricate linework and bold use of color. Her work explores mythology, cultural history, and the character of neighborhoods and communities. She has a master's degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and post-graduate degrees in education from Cabrini College and Capella University.

She's a taste maker, not a taste tester. And she's been making art in one form or another since she could hold a crayon.

Connect with Jennifer: Website: hypergraphia.shop Instagram: @hypergraphia.jscottartist