Dubbed the “Lewis Carroll of Baltimore” by internationally renowned artist, Grace Hartigan, Jessica Damen’s paintings speak to universal themes revealed through fairytales, Biblical stories and ancient Greek myths. Hartigan said of Damen’s paintings, “like William James she has a gift for psychology in her depiction of children. Her use of paint is both sensual and tough.”

In 2001, Damen graduated from the Hoffberger School of Painting, MICA (Maryland Institute, College of Art.) Upon receiving her MFA, she was awarded a full resident fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center (FAWC) in Provincetown, MA, by Elizabeth Turner, then Chief Curator at the Phillips Collection, Washington DC. She has won awards from Jay Fisher, Senior Curator of the Baltimore Museum of Art and Joann Moser, Senior Curator of Graphic Arts, National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC, among other respected curators.

Damen's artwork have been regularly selected for invitational exhibitions and group exhibitions curated by well-known museum curators and gallerists. Her paintings can be found in private and public collections.