Jacqueline Owens Garness was born in Chicago and grew up in uptown New Orleans. An accomplished artist from childhood, she worked as a commercial artist for much of her life, for the New Orleans Times Picayune, Denver Post and Maison Blanche. Garness returned to art studies at Southeastern Louisiana University in the 1980s and exhibited her fine art at LeMieux Galleries in New Orleans, and galleries in Mississippi, North Carolina, New Mexico, and South Dakota. She was a respected member of the St. Tammany Parish arts scene, exhibiting in numerous shows, and a member of several regional art associations.

Garness' artwork is a vivid celebration of the wild beauty of the Louisiana landscape, rendered with Fauve-inspired colors and strong, exuberant shapes. Her paintings are in the collections of both old and new St. Tammany Courthouses, the New Orleans City Hall Mayor's Office, and numerous private collections.