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

Alright, Jay thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

In 2019 I received a call. “Is this Jay Winter Collins?” “Yes, that is me,” I replied. “You will be receiving a phone call from Governor Bob Graham.” Are you sure? I asked. I was assured that yes, it was certain. I was at Parker Elementary, where I taught math to gifted first, second and third graders. I was between classes, and I spent the rest of that break excitedly wondering why I would be receiving this phone call. The clue was in the name, Jay Winter Collins, which is how I market myself as an artist and illustrator. I dared to hope that Governor Bob Graham wanted to hire me as an illustrator. Maybe, I thought, he has written a children’s book. I received the call in the last five minutes of my last class. I had already told my first graders that I was anticipating this phone call, so when my cell phone rang as they were putting their papers away, they gathered around me in a circle.
I was already a great admirer of Bob Graham. I had met him many years before when he was a US Senator, as he and Connie Mack visited the college of education to hear about our tutoring project. I was in the audience when he and Sandra Day O’Conner spoke to educators at UF about the ICivics project to promote civics education in middle school. So my first words to Governor Bob Graham were, “I want you to know that you are one of my heroes.” He responded, “Well, you’ll be my hero too if you will say yes.” “Yes,” I said, without knowing what I was saying yes to. To my delight, he asked if I would be interested in illustrating his children’s book, Rhoda the Alligator. I responded that I would be very interested, and we made a plan to meet at the Bob Graham center on campus so that I could share my portfolio with him. When the phone call ended my students, who had been listening, were as excited as I was.
I taught half a day at the time, so at noon when I got off I drove to my studio and then to campus, parked and made my way to my meeting with Governor Graham. I introduced myself to his assistant. “He prefers to be called Governor,” she told me, “because he feels like he did his most important work as Governor of Florida.”
Well, after perusing my portfolio, Governor Graham said he would share my information with his publisher, Mango Press, and that they would contact me. I was asked by Mango to provide a cover design and a two-page spread from the manuscript, and when they were pleased with my submissions I was contracted to illustrate the book. I completed the project three months later, with much communication between Governor Graham and myself. He and his wife Adele are the nicest people I have ever met. When the illustrations were complete, we had a gathering to exhibit the finished paintings, with people from both of our circles invited.
Illustrating a children’s book had been a wish of mine since I was twelve. I couldn’t imagine a better experience doing so. The book was released at the end of November in 2020, amid CoVid, before we had a vaccine, so the book-signing tour did not happen.

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

I have always been an artist. When I was nine, with the support of my mother and father, I began selling my line drawings at street fairs in Seattle, Washington. When I was thirteen, my parent’s were divorced and we moved across the country to Florida and though I continued with art I didn’t’ continue doing the street fairs. I got an art scholarship and attended the University of Florida to major in art, focusing on oil painting. My mother died unexpectedly in my junior year, and I dropped out of college for two years. When i returned I changed my major to education with a specialization in children’s literature. Children’s book illustration had been a passion of mine for years. I earned my masters degree and began teaching, but continued to practice my drawing and painting skills. Then I had two beautiful children and had little time to pursue my passion for art. In 2013 I discovered paint markers allowed for me to work anywhere: during violin lessons, in the car while waiting for a dance to let out, that kind of thing. Paint markers were a new medium for me, so I spent a lot of time experimenting, and developed a method of layering paint and varnish to create highly saturated color. I found markers that could be refilled, mixed, with changeable points. Their portability was essentially what enabled me to practice my art, since I was constantly driving my children to their activities. I began displaying my artwork locally at the Firehouse Gallery in Newberry, The Full Circle Gallery at Central Florida office plus, and other smaller venues. In 2015 I began doing outdoor art festivals again. I earned my certificate as a teacher of the gifted and moved to teaching part time and spent the rest of the time working on my art.
I now travel to shows regionally, going as far west as Alabama and north to the Carolinas. I have collectors on four continents and have sold over 800 paintings in the last ten years. I have established Art Studios of Grace, which is four studios located in a former nursery school behind Grace Presbyterian Church on north 13th street in Gainesville, Florida. Two lifelong goals I met in 2020, illustrating a children’s book and creating a community of artists. I love what I do. My paintings focus on joy.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I was 13 I lost my older brother to suicide. When I was twenty my mother died unexpectedly from heart disease. When I was 32 I lost my other brother to suicide. I believe that the depth of my sorrow and the height of my joy are two sides of the balance. I have had a lot of sorrow, and I have experienced commiserate joy, and I use art to communicate the joy rather than the sorrow. By creating art that is positive, pleasant, comforting, and happy, I hope to influence others in a positive way.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Gainesville, Florida, is teeming with creative people, artists, musicians, innovators. How can our community support these creatives? One essential thing I think would be impactful is to create low-cost studio space for creatives. Ashville, NC is an example of a place that prioritized this for artists and has seen a boom as a result. I would like to see studios set up around the lake in Depot Park, Re-purposed classroom portables could be set up with a boardwalk between them and made available to local artists. The artists could give back by creating art for community spaces, and by opening their studios to the public on a regular basis.

Contact Info:

• Website: jaywintercollins.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaywintercollins?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JayWinterCollins
• Other: linktr.ee/Jaywintercollins

Image Credits
all photos are by me