Jocelyn Cruz is a storyteller. Specializing in mixed media, the artist layers her paintings with reclaimed objects to create textures and shades of colors in diverse depths. She recycles found materials to create interesting backgrounds and foregrounds, to honor social causes and memories, and to add intriguing effects to each art piece.

Jocelyn starts with an “idea sketch” of what she envisions creating, and later relies on intuition around the story that she wishes to express. This journey of exploring, discovering, and stretching new limits connects her deeply with her authentic soul– one that is unwaveringly defiant.  When Jocelyn approaches a project, she conducts exhaustive research, collects original artifacts and mementos, and contemplates the message, memories, and emotions she wants to convey.

She takes critical risks with her art. While a typical painter might be satisfied in leaving alone a beautiful painted image, Jocelyn adds multiple layers on top of what might look like a completed painting to achieve greater composition. Finally, she celebrates the completion of her work with stains, splatters, and drips on the painting’s surface (“Jocelyn’s signature marks”) that could destroy what a viewer might consider a “done” masterpiece. Jocelyn does this to acknowledge that her creative life and each story can be messy and risky -- and nonconforming.  Her encaustic wax mixed media paintings, such as “Pigeon Point Lighthouse” and “Golden Gate Bridge” are ethereal and captivating.

Part of her authenticity comes from staying true to her message, innovating and using best practices in her creation process--Jocelyn pushes herself to produce detailed and complex art of high aesthetic and archival quality. She wants her work to be meaningful and to start awareness -- whether it is about honoring someone's loved one, a family's togetherness, special events, places, history, or a humanitarian cause. One commissioned painting, “When You Love What You Do, It’s No Longer Work” is an example of how she steers viewers toward the truth about her subject’s redemptive identity and family members’ strong bonds with each other.

More than a personal journey, Jocelyn’s work has a message to share with the world. A self-described Rebel, Jocelyn is a vivacious woman who insists on living a life of purpose. She desires authenticity and transcendence, which she says she cannot find without her art. Jocelyn feels a driving force to create works that inspire her art patrons and social media followers to live up to their dreams and life potential.

Her deep expression shares an inspirational story of perseverance as she journeys to fulfill her passion and to thrive as an artist. Her portfolio features numerous works and she ensures that each viewer leaves with an important message: “Do what you love because it matters.”

Living by the mantra, “Well-behaved women rarely make history,” Jocelyn takes pride in defying rules, albeit with a purpose. In 2015, she opened her own art gallery and studio in Carmel-By-the-Sea, California. While the most artwork exhibited in Carmel is traditional in style, hers are far from it -- as they evoke revolution, modern innovation, and the spirit of the Bohemian artists who founded the art scene in Carmel. She wanted her art to be accessible to all who related and who felt impacted by the messages in her paintings.

A woman who recently opened a dance studio in Carmel-By-The-Sea couldn’t afford the “Don’t Let the Sun Set on Your Dreams” original painting that she wanted to hang in the studio to inspire students, so Jocelyn sold her a print of the artwork. She hopes her art will inspire others to never give up on their dreams and to make history. 

65/57 Degrees Magazine has featured Jocelyn’s story and her work on its two-sided magazine covers: “57 Degrees: City of San Francisco” and “65 Degrees: Monterey Peninsula.”

In Jocelyn’s interview at the San Diego Art Show 2015, she was noted as the most unique artist at the show. Rick Barnett, Redwood Media Group's Managing Director, said, “I walked this entire show. There are representational pieces that tend to blend over from one exhibit to another, and yet, Jocelyn’s particular exhibit was unique – there wasn’t anything like it in the entire show. It was the only thing that I might have seen that came across as authentic.”

At the 2018 Las Vegas Market, 2018 ArtExpo New York, and 2019 SURTEX shows, she was featured and recognized as one of the successful artists of today. 

From 2018 to 2020, Jocelyn lived both in the East Coast and West Coast (with an art studio in NYC and a residence in San Jose).

TODAY: After sheltering in place in the Bay Area, Jocelyn permanently relocated to Dana Point, California. She is working on a new body of work with Laguna Beach and Dana Point as her subject matters.

Jocelyn also:
- Accepts commissions from both public and private patrons
- Works with designers, architects, galleries and retailers
- Offers digitized artworks for licensing.

Please contact Jocelyn to make a private appointment at her art studio in Dana Point, California.