I’m
an abstract painter and glass artist living in Sacramento, California. I work in commercial real estate development
and recently opened an art gallery with two other artists where we create, show
and sell our art.
Who (or what)
inspires you to do what you love in your own creative business?
When
I see a blank wall I feel the need to mentally decorate it in my mind. I’m inspired by colours, which register and
reflect various emotions within me when I paint. Every painting I do is a visual diary of
feelings, thoughts and inspirations for that particular time.
Where do you get
your inspiration from when you design/ paint?
I find inspiration in the strangest
places! The other day I was inspired by
a tiny dress a very young baby was wearing which prompted me to pull out my
pink and pea green paints. A couple of
weeks ago I found a rusted piece of metal with beautiful rust and ochre tones
which I used ended up using for an abstract cityscape.
Stepping Into the Twilight Zone
What are the five
words that people who know you would use to describe you?
Creative,
dependable, intuitive, trustworthy and smart.
Tell us about your
very first job and what path have you taken since then?
The
summer I graduated from high school, I got a temporary job at a real estate
office helping them with an audit they were going through. After the term was over they offered me full
time employment and I accepted. My
parents were crushed because they wanted me to go to college but they were not
supportive of desire to go to art school.
I ended up getting my real estate sales license and then my broker’s
license and am still in the real estate industry today. I did go to college at night to study
business and art, but still consider myself mostly self-taught.
Describe a typical
day in your studio space?
I like to start with a clean workspace and lay
out my paints, canvas, brushes and water.
Sometimes I’ll turn on some loud music to get me in the spirit; other
times I paint in silence. I like to practice
on a few pre-cut squares of 140-lb or 300-lb watercolour paper with some quick
designs, then move on to a clean canvas where I lay down some lines of paint
with no specific pattern in mind. From
there I begin adding more colours and continue to “create and destroy.” I usually know how much time I have to spend
painting and plan accordingly. If I only
have an hour or so to play, then I work fast and furiously.
JJ in studio
As an artist what
is your biggest frustration?
Overcommitting
myself and saying “yes” to unreasonable deadlines.
Tell us about how
you prioritise your studio work.
Each
morning I make up a To-Do list of everything I want to achieve for that
particular day. If I’m going to be
working in my studio I’ll have the tasks that I want to complete on the To-Do
list and cross them off as they’re finished.
The most important tasks are always listed first and if I don’t finish
my list that day I’ll carry over the unfinished jobs to the next day.
Can you please
tell us about how do you connect with other artists, and your customers (i.e.
how do you network)?
I
am fortunate that I share a studio with two other wonderfully talented artists. We are able to share marketing ideas and get
each other’s point of view when needed.
I also have a fan page on Facebook; and accounts on Twitter, LinkedIn, ETSY
and Fine Arts America. We have monthly art
walks in our city that I participate in and when I’m able to, I enjoy meeting
other artists and visiting art galleries.
Teaching Lampworking
What advice can
you offer other creative people who are just starting out and following their
passions?
Trust
your gut and keep creating – no matter what other people think!
What dreams do you
still want to achieve or fulfil in your life?
I
want to get my more of my art into corporate settings and be able to earn a
decent living doing my art full-time.
What is your
proudest moment so far?
Decorating
and installing my art work into the lobby of one of the buildings I was project
manager for.
The Journey Home
Who do you most
want to meet and why?
If
Georgia O’Keefe were still alive I would want to meet her and watch her
paint. Her colour and subject choices
continue to fascinate me, and her fierce determination to be an artist inspires
me every day.
What is the most
important lesson in life that you have learned?
Life
is short – live each day as if it were your last.
What book are you
reading right now, and do you have a book you would like to recommend?
At the moment I’m reading “I’d Rather Be in
the Studio” by Alyson B. Stanfield, which is a fabulous book on self promotion
and how to market your art. A book I
recommend to artists and writers alike is called “On Writing” -- it is an
empowering memoir written by Stephen King about his journey to become a writer
combined with basic information on how to write and be published.
Zoom
Where do we find you and your products?
No comments:
Post a Comment