About the Artist

A two-time winner of the Brown-Forman Award, Deborah Jinkins’ work has been juried into regional, state, and national exhibitions and is held in private and corporate collections across the country. Jinkins is a signature member in the Kentucky ([email protected]), Georgia ([email protected]) , and Southern (southernwatercolorsociety.org) Watercolor Societies. She served multiple-terms as president of KWS and also as Director of Aqueous USA, the KWS National Exhibition.  She is honored to have been named KWS Master Painter for 2022.

Her artistic influences include JMW Turner for his indefatigable dedication to explore what paint will do; Winslow Homer for his blues and grays of skies and seascapes; Georgia O’Keefe for her large scale subjects and lovely fusion of the real with abstract; Vincent Van Gogh for the energy, color, brushwork, honesty; John Singer Sargent for his sparse simplicity and immediacy; and the Impressionists as a group for their search for luminosity. While there are many others that could be included here, she is grateful to all artists who seek their true voice and have the courage to express it.

 Learning watercolor had been on Deborah’s bucket list for many years, but in the words of the immortal John Lennon, ‘life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans’.  It was in the summer of 2011, after buying her home on Saint Simons Island, Georgia, she found her chance. Painting with Lynn St. Clair on visits to the island and later with Cathy Hillegas across the river in Indiana, Deborah learned the basics of watercolor and began to fulfill her dream of becoming a watercolorist. She has also painted with Paul Jackson, Lian Quan Zhen, Anne Abgott and other internationally known artists in a variety of workshop settings. 

 Deborah’s work is often described as realistic with a touch of whimsy. She is not interested in copying a reference for accuracy but strives to express life’s moments with an honest, open heart. The personality of a swan, the complexity of flower petals, the serendipity of fallen leaves, or the attitude of a pelican all become spaces for the viewer to rest, be drawn in and experience a moment of reflection on this wonderful world. Art is meant to be more than a pretty picture on the wall. Art, she believes, feeds our souls and raises us up to live life more fully. 

Deborah's work has been on exhibit at ArtTrends Gallery on Saint Simons Island as a gallery member 2022-2023. The Kentucky Watercolor Society ([email protected]) spotlighted her work in a special solo exhibit as 'KWS Master Painter 2022' as part of the Aqueous National Exhibition in Lexington, KY. An elected member of the Georgia Coastal Artists Guild (www.georgiacoastalartistsguild.com), her work is regularly on display at the guild's exhibitions and shows. Details of the guild's shows will be posted on this site.  Jekyll Island Art Association (jekyllartists.com) and Glynn Visual Arts (glynnvisualarts.org) are local venues where her work is often on exhibit.