Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

JMW Fine Art (“JMW Fine Art,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is the studio of oil painter Jennifer Whitehead, based in Maryland, United States. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit jmwfineart.com (the “Site”), place an order, book a class, subscribe to our newsletter, or otherwise interact with us, and how we use and protect that information.

By using the Site, you agree to the collection and use of information described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.

2. Information We Collect

We only collect information necessary to provide our products and services. The categories of personal information we collect include:

• Contact and inquiry information. When you submit our contact form, commission inquiry form, or newsletter signup, we collect your name, email address, and the contents of your message.
• Account information. If you create an account, we collect your email address and a password. User accounts are managed through Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cognito; passwords are hashed and stored by Cognito and are never visible to us in plain text.
• Class booking information. When you reserve a spot in a class or workshop, we collect your name, email, selected class, and any notes you provide. Booking records are stored in Amazon DynamoDB.
• Order and payment information. When you purchase an original painting, print, or class seat, you provide your name, shipping address, email, and payment card details. Payment card details are collected and processed directly by Stripe — we do not see or store full card numbers on our servers.
• Account activity. If you are signed in, we keep a record of paintings you save to Favorites and your order history.
• Automatically collected information. We log basic technical information such as your IP address, browser type, pages viewed, and timestamps. IP addresses are used for rate limiting and fraud prevention.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Process and fulfill orders, including shipping artwork
• Confirm class bookings and send reminders and materials lists
• Respond to contact inquiries and commission requests
• Send newsletters and studio updates to subscribers who have opted in
• Maintain your account and provide customer support
• Prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents (including rate limiting)
• Comply with legal obligations

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

4. Third-Party Service Providers

We rely on a small set of trusted service providers to run the Site. These providers process your information only to perform services for us:

• Stripe — payment processing. See Stripe’s Privacy Policy.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) — website hosting (Amplify), user authentication (Cognito), database storage (DynamoDB), transactional email (SES), and AI content tooling (Bedrock). See AWS Privacy Notice.
• Sanity.io — content management for paintings, blog posts, and site content. See Sanity’s Privacy Policy.

5. Cookies and Local Storage

The Site uses browser storage to support core functionality. In particular, your shopping cart is stored in your browser’s localStorage so items persist between pages, and — if you sign in — an authentication token is stored in a cookie so we can keep you signed in. We do not use third-party advertising cookies or cross-site tracking pixels. You can clear this data at any time through your browser settings.

6. Email and Unsubscribe

If you subscribe to our newsletter, we will send periodic studio updates, new work announcements, and class availability. You can unsubscribe at any time by replying to any newsletter email with “unsubscribe” or by contacting us directly. Transactional emails related to orders, classes, or commissions are sent regardless of marketing preferences because they are necessary to fulfill your requests.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information only as long as needed for the purposes described in this policy or as required by law. Order and booking records are generally kept for seven years for tax and accounting purposes. Inquiry and newsletter data is kept until you request deletion or unsubscribe.

8. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your information
• Opt out of marketing email
• Request a copy of your data in a portable format

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 13. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

9. Children’s Privacy

The Site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with information, please contact us and we will delete it. Kids’ classes, when offered, are booked by a parent or guardian on the child’s behalf.

10. Security

We use industry-standard safeguards to protect your information, including TLS encryption for data in transit, AWS Cognito for authenticated account management, rate limiting, and restricted administrative access. Payment card information is handled entirely by Stripe under PCI-DSS standards; we never store full card numbers. No system is perfectly secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. International Visitors

JMW Fine Art operates from the United States. If you access the Site from outside the U.S., you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States, which may have different data protection laws than your country.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the Effective Date above and, for significant changes, provide reasonable notice on the Site. Your continued use of the Site after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

13. Contact Us

Questions, requests, or concerns about this policy or your personal information can be sent through our contact page.