Jessica Schengber was born in Mount Kisco, NY, and raised in the small town of Otego, in central NY. Since that day she has wanted a pony and said as much as soon as she could. When she could finally hold a pencil and express that thought on paper she did and that's all she's been drawing since, horses [also dogs and cats]. On her ninth birthday she finally got her wish, she got her first horse. He was only a mixed breed and nothing special to anyone else, but to Jessica he was heaven on four legs. They went everywhere and spent many hours together. Through the years Jessica has owned many horses but none could ever replace that special place in her heart for that first horse, Rusty. She feels that each horse has a different personality and it shows in her artwork. With her pencil she is able to capture each animal's individuality. Her portraits are known for their "expression". Jessica was recently commissioned to draw a horse as a Christmas gift by a hunt club in Pennsylvania for one of their members. The club wanted to present the portrait to the horses's owner at a Christmas party. The result was expressed best by club member Carol Gearhart, "Jessica's sketch was so remarkable it brought everyone at the Christmas party to tears." (Sum party, huh?) The owner really loved it. Everyone felt it captured the horse's personality so well, which is amazing since Jessica had only seen a few photos!" Jessica has also been commissioned by the Oldenburg Verband in Germany, to do a portrait of the stallion Placido. The portrat was to be presented to the owner at his retirement ceremony. He loved it so much that after the party (at 5 a.m.) he invited several people to his home to hang the portrait over his fireplace. The Verband also commissioned her for a portrait of the famous stallion Donnerhall and his rider Karin Rehbein. The Verband is currently selling prints of that portrait through their monthly magazine. Jessica was also commissioned by Ullrich and Bianca Kasselmann, of Performance Sales International (P.S.I.) fame. She drew their stallion Lord Sinclair and one of their top selling sales horses of 1999. Back home in the states, Jessica's work has won several national contests and has been published in an anthology of life on the eastern shore of Maryland. Jessica, her husband and their eleven year old son currently live in Chestertown, MD, and own three Hanoverian mares. Horses are very much a family "thing" and the artist is still extremely passionate about them and it shows in her artwork.