Today we’d like to introduce you to Jellesa Wellington.
Hi Jellesa, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2018, my life changed. I had just been diagnosed with cancer for the second time, and in the middle of that darkness, I went searching for light, only to realize that I was the light I’d been looking for.
Painting became my sanctuary, my prayer, and my way of remembering myself beyond the diagnosis. What began as a means of survival evolved into a purpose. I hosted solo exhibitions, curated my own black-tie art gala, and built a business from the ground up as a full-time artist and entrepreneur. My art wasn’t just color on canvas; it became energy in motion, a language for healing and remembrance.
Over time, the same spiritual current that guided my art began directing my life’s work. By June 2025, that current unfolded into a deeper calling: becoming a Certified Spiritual Life Coach. Coaching became the continuation of my art, only now, the canvas is the soul. The brush is a conversation. The paint is the truth.
Every session, every client, every creation is an extension of the same vow I made in that hospital room years ago: to turn pain into power, and to teach others how to do the same. My journey as an artist made me a vessel for beauty; my journey as a coach made me a vessel for transformation. Together, they form one language, the language of light returning home.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not, honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The beauty of the journey is that every detour taught me something I couldn’t have learned on a straight path.
When I first started, I was just coming out of my second cancer diagnosis and finding my footing as both a woman and an artist. Entrepreneurship itself isn’t easy; it will humble you, stretch you, and show you exactly who’s really in your corner. One of the hardest lessons I had to learn was that support doesn’t always come from the places you expect it to. The people you assume will show up often don’t, and it’s usually strangers who end up becoming the backbone of your growth. That realization forced me to build from faith instead of familiarity.
Beyond that, my biggest challenges have been internal. As a creative, I thrive in solitude, yet we live in a world where visibility is currency. Social media is powerful, but it can also be draining. The constant need to “show up” online sometimes pulls me away from the stillness where my best work is born. I’ve spent 80 to 100 hours on a single painting, pouring every ounce of myself into it, only to post it and see a handful of likes. That can mess with your mind if you let it.
But what I’ve learned is that the algorithm can’t measure alignment. The number of likes can’t define light. My art, my coaching, and my calling aren’t for quick consumption. They’re for transformation. And sometimes transformation takes time to be seen.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an artist, storyteller, and spiritual life coach, but at the core, I’m a woman who paints memory back into the souls of others.
I’m best known for painting Black women, not because I limit myself to one subject, but because I’m intentional about centering us in our power, beauty, and truth. When I first began painting, I noticed something that never sat right with me: most of the art I saw in stores showed white women in soft, angelic light. But when Black women were depicted, the energy often felt disconnected, like the artist didn’t really see us. So, I made it my mission to change that.
My work exists to remind Black women that we are not just muses, we are masterpieces. Every brushstroke is a reclamation. Each painting becomes a mirror, reflecting the pieces of ourselves we were told to hide or forget, the softness, the strength, the divine feminine that survives everything. I want every woman who stands before my art to feel seen, restored, and remembered.
And that’s where my path as a Certified Spiritual Life Coach intertwines with my art. I realized that what I do on canvas is what I do in conversation: I guide people back to themselves. My coaching practice was born from the same place my art was: healing. The canvas heals through color; the coaching heals through clarity. Both are sacred work.
What sets me apart is that I don’t just create art you hang on your wall, I create energy you feel in your spirit. Whether it’s through a painting or a one-on-one session, my goal is the same: to remind you that you are already whole, already powerful, already divine.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I was a mix of laughter, curiosity, and creativity that couldn’t sit still if it tried. I was the kid who was always making something, sewing, sketching, cooking, doing hair, anything that let my hands bring imagination to life. For a long time, I wanted to be a fashion designer. I even took a fashion class in school… until one very uninspiring lesson convinced me that wasn’t my runway after all.
After that, I went through every dream under the sun, from designer to police officer, but the thread that never left was creativity. I’ve always been drawn to color, to beauty, to transformation. Personality-wise, I was bubbly, full of energy, the one who kept everyone laughing even when life was heavy. Looking back, it makes sense that I became an artist and a life coach. I’ve always been someone who finds joy in creating and meaning in connecting.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aura_studio_1125?igsh=b2F6NmFxdDdocXFz&utm_source=qr
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/sovereignwithcoachj?igsh=bG4xemZrYWd4NXd3&utm_source=qr
