We recently connected with Jasmine Gonzales and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jasmine , thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I have been creating art all my life. My mom has saved probably every art project and piece of paper I scribbled on since I was 3. I did odd jobs and one-off jobs here and there most of my life but never gave it too much of a thought. I arrived to Austin, TX for college and started to learn about the diverse and amazing street art and muralist community. I started to dabble in it and sold my first print with the help of Spratx but because of school, let it fall to the back burner again. In 2018, I found an amazing art community at a place very dear to my heart, Cherry Cola Dog (CCD). I connected with an artist, Justin Haggerty, who was performing live art at CCD events. We chatted and I showed him some of my art and he really encouraged me to live paint at CCD. I was terrified to do it!! I kept telling him no and he kept pushing me to give it a try. Finally, I gave in. My first night live painting solo, I ended up selling my piece and was absolutely floored! After that, I continued to live paint at any art event or CCD party I could. Learning that people fell in love with my art enough to purchase it completely changed my art trajectory. I started to really put more time and practice into creating art and strengthening my skills. I realized that I had even more people who believed in me, supported me, and wanted to see me succeed than I had ever imagined. I am very lucky in this aspect and very thankful too.
Jasmine , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Well, to begin with my name is Jasmine, sometimes Jrg (“jerj”) according to my best friends, and Jas to others. I’m a 29 year old self-taught Mexican-American artist that hails from the Texas Hill Country. I reside in Austin, TX currently.
I’ve been creating my entire life but professionally for around 4 years. I am best known for my UV reactive paintings and pieces filled with pink, and lots of floral elements. I am drawn to symmetry and the aesthetic of clean lines and incorporate these elements into my art. I draw portraits of women a lot as well, because I think women need more representation as strong, bold, and powerful beings. I create a lot of art digitally including simple animations and gifs. I also love to create what I call “ooey gooey” murals; murals filled with rainbows, sloths, hearts, unicorns, and all things happy! I have gotten into brand development, logo design, and menu design as well. Basically, my style is I have no style; I really love to dabble in just about everything. I will also try just about everything!
As I’ve really grown into this role in my life as a creator, I have struggled a lot but also have advanced a lot. I am proud for not only growing my artistic skills and brand, but also my business and career. Learning the business side of the artistic life has not been easy. There are a lot of moving parts to keep track of and a lot to think of from a financial aspect. Thankfully, I have a very strong art community and strong support system behind me that I can always ask for help…and Google!
My artistic process has so much that goes into it, and it changes depending on what I am making. My mural process is different than my physical art process. There is much more to think about than what colors to use and what to draw. Mural planning takes more prep work than a piece of art. For example, I need to consider where the mural will be, what surface it is going to be painted on, how the paint will interact with what is already on the wall, any equipment needed, among other things. Artists often hear “You’re good at it, so it must be easy!” when it is anything but that. It seems easy because we have practiced for hours, failed and tried again, and continued to push ourselves. It is no doubt a lot of fun, but it is not always easy.
Being a female artist of color is also really important to me. In a space that can sometimes feel male-dominated, being a part of a community of strong and driven women has been incredibly helpful. I know I can turn to these women for anything. I do also have a strong community of amazing men who are also there for anything, too. Overall, I am incredibly lucky to be a part of such a fantastic art community. I am proud at the things I have accomplished through my hard work and perseverance. If my 10 year old self could have looked into the future and see what I have grown to become today as an artist, despite the struggles and learning curves, they’d be so elated because we made it!!
Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?
At first, I thought “what is this nonsense!?” but as a digital creator, it is a whole new avenue for me to be able to get my art out to people whom I may have never reached to begin with. For me, NFTs offer a new way to reach a larger broader audience while engaging in a new form of marketing and technology. Sometimes, there are works I create digitally that would not transfer well into a physical form. The piece would lose some of the components that are important to its meaning and significance or those components would not translate well. Other times, I simply do not have the extra funds to get my works from a digital version into a physical form. A lot of my works, if not all of them, are also created using neon colors and unfortunately do not come out as vibrant in print form as they should; therefore, the piece is at its best in digital form. These are reasons I started looking into NFTs and honestly I was shocked. I was shocked not only about all the amazing art, but the amazing communities as well. I have joined so many projects, a majority of them women led, that want to help give back to those in need, fight injustices, and so much more. The communities are incredibly kind, helpful, and supportive. It sounds cliche, but I really have made friends all across the globe who want to support me, help me, and see me succeed.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the emotional connection you can have with a complete stranger. There have been plenty of times, I’ve been live painting at an art event and someone comes up to tell me a really heartwarming story on how the piece made them feel and how it connects to them. Or how the piece just simply made their day. There have also been plenty of times I’ve received messages that someone stumbled upon a mural of mine and how they saw it and it made their day or that they felt seen, validated. I think that is so rewarding; to be able to create a piece that a random stranger at a random time can see and completely resonate with it. Two strangers connected emotional even when not together.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: jrgpaints
- Twitter: jrgpaints
- Other: opensea: https://opensea.io/Jrgpaints discord: https://discord.gg/AzNdHazq
Image Credits
Tony Moreno