Day in the Life: Baltimore visual artist Jessy DeSantis finds time for art and family

Day in the Life is a series of occasional articles in which The Baltimore Sun looks at how Marylanders have been making their way through the coronavirus pandemic.

Today: How Baltimore visual artist Jessy DeSantis juggles art and motherhood.

Baltimore visual artist Jessy DeSantis, 29, is a wife, mother of two and, until school ended recently, a teacher for her older daughter, Adela, 5. Jessy spent part of her day homeschooling Adela now after schools closed due to COVID-19.

She also enjoys making crafts and gardening with her daughters in their backyard. She occasionally leaves her house by bike with her husband to make local deliveries from the sale of her artwork.

“As an artist I am a small-business owner, and I have online orders I need to print, package and deliver. In my mind I think I’ll have time in the evenings when my mother and husband are ‘off work,’ but the kids end up with me anyways because that’s just what they are used to,” says DeSantis.

Finding time to work on her art has been challenging, as she will wait for her daughters to fall asleep before taking out her brushes to paint. “I would describe my art as magical realism inspired by nature, my family and my Central American roots. I enjoy painting in vibrant colors over a contrast of white space.”

DeSantis was looking forward to a solo art exhibit of her work at Yellow Arrow Publishing in Highlandtown, which had to be canceled due to the pandemic. “I’m trying to sell my work virtually now, and it’s difficult. Pictures of the work is not the same for some. This definitely has been a challenging time and we are trying to hang in there. I find myself reflecting every day on how we can make the next one better, more loving and more peaceful.”

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