Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jess. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jess, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
I am a Southern California live wedding artist. I travel to weddings, take reference photos of the couple in the pose of their choice and paint oil on canvas full body portraits including backgrounds. The wedding guests love watching the painting come to life! I start at the wedding and finish painting in my Temecula art studio. I have a Youtube.com channel showing clips of the painting progress and finished works.
I have always made my living creating art in a variety of applications including oil and watercolor portraits, landscapes, sci-fi and vehicles and digital ads, publishing art, billboard ads. The ABC TV show called “Dating in the Dark” hired me as the resident sketch artist. The job was crazy drawing people from a description of what someone’s face felt like. It lasted two seasons and was a fun gig!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
After hearing about live wedding and event paintings, I made some sample paintings, put them on my website JessPernaFineArt.com and started getting inquiries. Half the clients are buying a gift for a couple and the other half are the couples ordering themselves. The intent of painting at the wedding is to provide entertainment for guests as the couples are so busy they don’t have much time to watch. They do come over from time to time to check in and see progress. I also paint landscapes and portraits at events. I paint the finest quality live event and wedding paintings available. Many artists offer various levels of finish for different fees. I offer one level which is the best I can create. If I am putting my name on a painting it will always be my best work. I never finish at the weddings since the paintings take many hours more than the length of a party. All art is best understood by observing not describing.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I have had several successful art careers outsourced to other countries. I find a new way to be creative and start again. I never give up or give in.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
I think galleries should promote artists who do realistic work that most people favor. Instead, they show abstracts or ridiculous installations. Recently a banana duct taped to a wall sold for six million dollars at a fancy auction house. I don’t want to dignify them my mentioning the name. You can google it if you want to see the article. A rich man in Japan bought it. The gallery sent him a banana and a roll of duct tape. He ate the banana online. This isn’t art this is a brazen insult to all of us who spent our lives creating beauty.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jesspernafineart.com
- Instagram: @jesspernafineart
- Facebook: JessPernaFineArt
- Youtube: @JessPernaEventArt-nm3ee
Image Credits
Jess Perna