Welcome to the
J. Gagnon Designs World.

A woman with curly hair sitting on a black office chair at a desk, holding a mug, with her head resting on her hand, looking at the camera smiling. She is wearing a striped shirt and black leggings. The desk has a small landscape painting, brushes, and a laptop, with a lamp overhead. The room has a light-colored wall and carpeted floor.

I’m Jesse Gagnon, an artist and surface pattern designer working out of my tiny home studio in Colorado. My primary inspiration is my natural environment and I am most content when I am far away from the crowds on a hike in the mountains or walking a sandy beach. I am endlessly fascinated by historical trends and love to blend traditional aesthetics with modern themes.

Evolution as an Artist

While I have always been crafty, with projects such as quilting, cross stitch and handmade gifts filling my creative cup, I dove into watercolor painting in 2019 when a Christmas gift subscription to Let’s Make Art watercolor box entered my hands. Today, my primary mediums are watercolor and ink and I use them to translate my feelings about the outdoors. My style includes loose and intuitive paintings and illustrations and reference based hyperrealism.

Surface Pattern Design

In 2024, I took Surface Pattern Design Immersion with Bonnie Christine and fell in love with the creative process of turning my original artwork into repeating patterns to use on products such as fabric and wallpaper. My patterns are often a combination of hand-drawn and watercolor elements. Like my watercolor work, my patterns seek to combine the natural environment with historical design movements.

Beyond the Art

A Life Spent Outdoors

I am rarely happier than when I am outside. On the weekends, you will often find me on my bike or along a cliff face either solo or with my husband. I love training for hard events, and my most recent accomplishment was completing The Triple Bypass a 118 mile bike ride from Evergreen, Colorado to Avon with an elevation gain of 10,000 feet.

Museums & Youth Education

While a full time creative career is my goal, most days you will find me working at my local museum, where I run all of the youth programming from outreach programs, to field trips, to summer camps. This environment often finds its way into my artwork in the form of colors and textures.

Recording the Journey

I have always enjoyed writing. I have stacks of journals and they are where I process my feelings, dreams, and life’s transitions. My blog has become my favorite place to document my creative journey, from small beginnings learning from online tutorials to releasing my latest collection, dealing with burnout and imposter syndrome, and learning (often the hard way) how to create systems to manage my entrepreneurial growth. If you want monthly updates about what I am creating and learning, join the Collector’s Club, my newsletter. 

Surrounded by Books

I am an obsessive reader. I typically average 60-70 books a year and it is a daily practice that keeps me grounded and allows me to rest a brain that rarely slows down. My favorite way to start the day is to be curled up with a cup of coffee and my latest book before the sun comes up.

Woman with brown hair tied in a bun, wearing a navy and white striped shirt, is sitting at a table, carefully handling small black and white photographs.
A smiling woman in cycling gear standing next to her black bike with racing numbers, wearing a helmet and sunglasses, at a race event with others in the background.
A woman sitting at a desk working on watercolor painting, surrounded by color samples, a lamp, and art supplies.
Person standing under a large, natural rock arch in a desert landscape with snow-capped mountains in the distance.

“Nothing great was every accomplished without enthusiasm.”

— Fortune Cookie