We recently connected with Jessica Pierce and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I am mostly self taught but over the years I have spent a lot of money taking courses from other artists, some of which I am ashamed to say I have never completed for lack of time. I do think it’s important to invest in yourself. I would expect any corporate employer to spend time and resources on my learning & development so why shouldn’t I do the same as an independent artist? When people see my paintings sometimes the first thing out of their mouths is something along the lines of “I couldnt; draw a stick figure” and I always find it odd that anyone would compare themselves to a career person. I wouldnt go to the gym and compare my fitness level to that of the trainer whose literal job is to be in shape so why do people do it to artists? I think there is a misconception that creative or artistic people are just born with talent and that’s all you need. It is a practice. I am good at art because yes, I do have some natural talent, but mainly because I have painted almost daily for 8 years now. Painting as much as you can is never a waste of time and it is how you get better and develop your style. While I don’t regret investing in myself and taking courses I think it would have been better to pick one course per year maybe and focus on that and take it and reteake or re-paint the techniques/lessons learned to really make them my own.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am Jessica Pierce Pasquale and I live in Raleigh with my two kids Rose (1), Pierce (3) and husband Joey. I am originally from Rocky Mount NC but have called Raleigh home for the past 15 years. When I graduated from UNC I moved to Sevilla Spain for two years and fell in love with the culture and life there. After moving back to the states I started a job in corporate america which was quite the different lifestyle. I started feeling restless with the wake up, go to work, go to the gym, cook dinner, go to bed and do it all again. I wanted more and I was lacking creativity. I wanted to make something, I was on a search to give more meaning to my life and I decided to paint a cow painting for my kitchen and as soon as I started, I could feel my cells shift. I was an artist.- it was who I was meant to be. And from that day forward I never looked back. I declared myself an artist and began to do all the things. It has been about 8 years since that cow painting and I have sold countless paintings and shipped them all over the world. After all this time, each sale is still just as exciting as the first. I am thankful that I had a very artistic and creative mother- she was an interior designer of sorts and she instilled a love of original art in me. It sounds silly but I truly believe that your life will be better if it’s lived in the presence of original art. It is the best way to level up any space. I want to share this message and bring joy to others through art. I also think that artists and galleries can sometimes be a bit stuffy or snotty and I think that sets me apart. I am approachable and my art is as well. You don’t have to have a degree in fine art to want something beautiful for your home.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I am not an expert by any means on social media or marketing. I have built a decent little following over the last few years and I think it is from showing up. I post daily- there may be some days I miss due to life but I try and post every day. I have also learned that quality followers & connections are much better than the number of followers. People get caught up in the numbers but sometimes having a huge following can actually hurt you because if there are people there that aren’t there for the right reasons they dilute your following so your posts don’t reach your target audience. I really value authenticity and people that try & “keep it real” so that is what I always endeavor to do. I think being vulnerable and showing your personality goes a long way to forming real connections.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Connecting with humans who enjoy my art. It can be lonely as an artist working in my studio all day and it’s also a very vulnerable thing to create something from nothing and spend so much time on it to put it out there in the world. The world can be so rude sometimes- especially on the internet so it can be tough but it makes it all worth it when I get to meet people who have found joy in my art. I have people that I met online that have bought pieces from almost every single collection release I have done for the past few years. To form relationships like that is so special.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://piercepaints.com/
• Instagram: @pierce_paints
• Facebook: Pierce Paints
• Other: TikTok: @pierce_paints