Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessel Miller.
Hi Jessel, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Timmins, Ontario, where long winters and the northern lights shaped my imagination. My father was a physician and artist, and my mother was a singer and poet — creativity and compassion were the foundation of my childhood.
I studied Fine Art at the University of Florida and spent six transformative months in Florence, Italy, before moving to California in 1971 to pursue life as an artist. The early years were challenging, but in 1982 my career shifted dramatically when the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art exhibited my portrait series Bay Area Personalities, featuring Maya Angelou, Herb Caen, Dianne Feinstein, Judy Chicago, and many others who shaped the cultural landscape of the time.
That exhibition opened the door to a lifelong career in painting, teaching, and building community through art. I eventually founded the Jessel Gallery in Napa Valley, now one of the longest‑running art galleries in the region, and later created the Napa Valley Mustard Celebration — a three‑month festival honoring the beauty, culture, and creativity of the valley.
Today, I continue painting, teaching, and building community through art. Every chapter of my life has been guided by the same belief I learned as a child under the northern lights: creativity has the power to connect people, heal hearts, and transform communities.
In recent years, my work has expanded beyond painting into music and community storytelling through the Napa Peace Project. What began as a simple question — “What brings you peace?” — has grown into a movement that blends art, writing, and now original music. I’ve been collaborating with renowned composer and multi‑instrumentalist Don Schiff to create the Napa Peace album, a collection of songs inspired by the emotional landscape of Napa Valley and the universal longing for calm in a chaotic world. Our first release, Napa Peace, is now streaming globally, and this new musical chapter has opened a fresh way for me to share beauty, healing, and connection with the community
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has been meaningful, but it has not always been smooth. Like many artists, I began with very little — no financial backing, no roadmap, just a deep belief that creativity could shape a life. In the early years, I worked multiple jobs while painting late into the night, building a career one portrait, one student, and one opportunity at a time.
Running a gallery for decades has brought its own challenges: economic downturns, shifting art markets, wildfires, and the constant need to reinvent while staying true to my voice. There were moments when keeping the doors open required sheer determination and faith.
But every struggle strengthened my commitment to the work. The obstacles pushed me to expand — into teaching, community building, founding the Napa Valley Mustard Celebration, and now creating music through the Napa Peace Project. Each challenge became a turning point that deepened my purpose and broadened the ways I could bring beauty and connection to others.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a painter, teacher, gallery owner, and community storyteller. For more than four decades, my work has centered on capturing the spirit of people and the landscape — whether through portraiture, intuitive color‑driven paintings, or large narrative pieces that explore the emotional heart of Napa Valley. I’m best known for my portrait series Bay Area Personalities, exhibited at SFMOMA, which featured Maya Angelou, Herb Caen, Dianne Feinstein, Judy Chicago, and other cultural icons. That series helped establish my career and shaped my lifelong commitment to creating art that honors human stories.
I specialize in intuitive acrylic painting, portraiture, and teaching adults how to reconnect with their creativity. My gallery, the Jessel Gallery in Napa Valley, has become one of the longest‑running art spaces in the region — a place where people come not just to view art, but to feel welcomed, inspired, and seen. I’m proud that the gallery has grown into a community hub offering classes, workshops, events, and a space for emerging artists to shine.
I’m also the founder of the Napa Valley Mustard Celebration, a three‑month festival that brings together art, food, wine, music, and local culture. The celebration has become a beloved tradition in the valley, and I’m proud of the way it uplifts local businesses, artists, and the beauty of Napa’s mustard season.
What sets me apart is the emotional approach I bring to everything I create. My work is rooted in intuition, storytelling, and connection — whether I’m painting, teaching, or building community. In recent years, my creative path has expanded into music through the Napa Peace Project, a collaboration with composer Don Schiff. Together we are creating original songs inspired by the emotional landscape of Napa Valley and the universal need for calm and beauty. This new chapter has opened another way for me to share peace, healing, and creativity with the world.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I grew up in Timmins, a small mining town in northern Ontario where long winters, quiet streets, and the northern lights shaped my imagination. I was a shy child — happiest when I was drawing, reading, or wandering outdoors absorbing the colors and moods of the landscape. Creativity was woven into my family: my father was a physician and artist, and my mother was a singer and poet, so art and storytelling felt like a natural language from the beginning.
Timmins is also the hometown of Shania Twain. Our paths crossed when Isobel Finnerty — my father’s nurse in his private practice, who later became a Canadian Senator — connected with Shania at the Juno Awards. As part of that introduction, Isobel arranged for me to send Shania the children’s books I had written, a sweet reminder of how small towns create lifelong threads of connection.
Those early years in the North gave me a deep sense of introspection, imagination, and emotional sensitivity — qualities that still shape my art, my teaching, and the way I connect with people today.
Pricing:
- Jessel Gallery Art Classes $75 drop in or 4 Class Ticket00
- Private group or individual art classes start at $150
- Artwork Pricing $300.00 to $100,000.00
- Gift Items range from $5 greeting cards to $2000 Clay Pieces
- Product for Napa Valley Mustard Celebration Product or Napa Peace Product vary with merchandiseorb
Contact Info:
- Website: jesselgallery.com
- Instagram: @jesselgallery
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/JesselGalleryNapa/
Image Credits
Photographs by Jessel Miller
