JEANIE LEWIS lives in Seattle, Washington, and is a primarily self-taught artist.  She started out working with watercolor and still life subjects and in 1997 she became interested in henna body art after seeing an intriguing photograph of a Tuareg tribal woman with beautifully painted hands in a National Geographic magazine.  After countless hours of practice and the gracious patience of many friends and family members, she became “Painted Lotus” -- a professional henna artist specializing in bridal work and custom body art pieces.

Henna renewed Jeanie’s interest in painting after a long hiatus. She is exploring new painting techniques and has fallend in love with acrylic and collage. She enjoys painting whimsical themes in bright, often metallic colors and much of her work is based on traditional henna patterns.  Mexican Day of the Dead skulls, Buddhist deities, peacocks, mythical birds, Tibetan calligraphy, dragons, various flying insects and odds and ends have all found their way into her artwork.   Her photographs are frequently incorporated into her collages.

Jeanie is one-half of the curating team of Artful Henna. You can reach her at paintedlotus[at]gmail.com.