We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jacq Frances. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jacq below.

Jacq, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I make art about my pain. It’s how I metabolize it. Sometimes I share it with the world, sometimes it’s just for me. But it’s the only way I know how to get it out of my head and onto the page. One of my biggest projects to date is my comedy special, The Life and Divorce of Jacq the Stripper. I was ending a decade-long career and marriage at the same time. It wasn’t a pretty story and the process to get through it was ugly and maybe the art itself is kind of ugly, too, which, in hindsight, I’m learning, was the point. I had to allow myself not only to make ugly art, but I learned a lot of hard and uncomfortable lessons along the way. I am so proud to be able to say that I am the first woman in my family to make a living as an artist. I come from so many talented painters, musicians and craftswomen, but I’m the first who sustains by selling her work. And I have such a big ego about this. About charging for my work. About making money and setting my prices at a rate where I can support myself and live well. But with this last project, I didn’t anticipate how expensive it would be and the show and tour ended up costing me a lot. A lot of touring artists have shared about this struggle of figuring out how to make a living after the pandemic with record high rates of inflation. Santigold talked about having to cancel her tour because it just wasn’t commercially viable. I remember reading that and hoping I would beat the odds. But, after expenses of hotels, gas, theatre rentals, book designers… I would get up on stage every night and essentially paid to perform. It was so humbling. It was not the way I wanted it to go. But in the end, I could not be more proud of the finished product. I just had to do it. I had to see it through. The art was more important than the money. So now I’m sitting here reevaluating what success means to me, if not financial. What does it mean to make meaningful work? And what kind of work do I need to do to sustain? I have no answers, only more questions.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Jacq Frances and I’m an artist, entertainer and filmmaker. I travel the world and paint my environment, experiences, dreams and revelations. Sometimes the paintings become stand-up comedy specials, other-times the can morph into films or comics. From my decade-long career as a stripper, to learning how to scuba dive, then on to attending the world’s most prestigious clown school in France, my illustrated life has no answers, only more questions.

I’ve published six books, have toured the globe as a stripper and later as a comedian, and make art with whatever and whomever is around. I’m an artist for hire and this means something different based on the client. I love collaborative ideas and seeing who likes my work and what dreams they have for working together.

Right now I’m keen to paint parties, weddings or any other type of social gathering. I like seeing people in community and celebration and providing an analog piece of fine art as a token to remember it.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Pleasure. I’m a hedonist. I want to live well and suck the juice out of life. I want to drink it all in and experience the range of human existence. The art follows.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Back when Instagram was democratic, I started illustrating comics about my life and work as a stripper. Little squares with text that is widely shared, I learned, is called a meme. And when you make memes – good ones – which means you gotta make a bunch of bad ones – they can really put you on the map. 8 or 9 years ago, that was a really good hack that got me noticed. Now I have no idea what the hack is with social media. I kind of hate it. I’m trying to find the joy, but I’m 36 years old now. I just don’t care as much about it. So I’m trying to care in a way that is generative for my business but doesn’t suck the marrow out of my soul. I have no answers yet.     xc 

Contact Info:

• Website: strippersforever.com
• Instagram: @jacqthestripper
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jacqfrances/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jf_serious_artist
• Other: Patreon.com/artcampproductions

Image Credits
Pink car photos: Inamorata Photography All other images Jacq Frances