We recently connected with Jesse Miller and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jesse thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

This is a pretty good question for me. I have been working on being an artist since I graduated college in 1996. But I also have a regular job. For many years I was dedicated to becoming a working artist. I was going to shows, selling from shops and galleries, giving demonstrations and leading workshops for art groups. I even taught watercolor classes in my studio for several years. But ultimately I couldn’t afford to keep at it. When my family started growing, I needed a steady income and being an artist didn’t give me that. I had worked as a seasonal lifeguard guard for the city of San Diego for several years and I was lucky enough to get promoted to full time a few years back. I enjoy my job, and am thankful that I have steady employment. Working at the beach is great, and I love being able to help so many people each year, but it doesn’t fill me with the same satisfaction I get when I finish a painting that I think is really great. When I am creating, I feel productive. I feel like I am doing something important. I love capturing an image, and interpreting it with paint. I like the idea that I am discovering something that I think is cool and sharing it with others. My paintings are usually ocean and surf related, and I love pointing to all the cool stuff that happens at the beach with my art. So, to answer the original question, I appreciate the fact that I have a regular job, but the idea that I am adding to the creativity of the world makes me feel good. I am so grateful for the artists and musicians and writers who have entertained and influenced me so much through my life, and I like the idea that I am also contributing to their efforts through my art.

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?

Before college, I never really thought about art, but I entered school as a fine arts major, and I have never looked back. In college I was as bad as any new art student would be, but I kept at it, and now 30 years later, and I am still trying to improve and produce better work. What makes my work different from a lot of other great artists, I believe, is the subject matter I choose. As long as I can remember, my whole life has been spent looking for good waves. I started surfing at an early age, and that has motivated me my whole life. I love surfing, and not just the act of riding a wave, but everything surrounding it. My favorite paintings are when I can identify and capture an aspect of surf culture. And, I love the shared experience when others recognize that in my work. It could be someone waxing their board, walking down a familiar trail to the beach, or someone just watching the waves. I try to show what surfing feels like. It could be sitting on a board in the lineup, or that last look down the line of a wave before you dive under it. There are scenes that only surfers see, especially in the ocean, and they are my favorite paintings. I like to paint seascapes, empty waves and even the wildlife at the beaches, but when I capture some authentic surf culture, I get really excited.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The value I place on time, and the way I want to spend my life gives me motivation to continue pursuing the arts. Earning money is a necessity, but I often feel like I am selling my life away an hour at a time at work. I get a paycheck, but my day wasn’t necessarily meaningful, and when it was over, I felt like any contribution I made could have been made by anyone. But with art, I feel like what I did, or what I created matters. It matters to me, anyways. And if I didn’t paint it, many of my images would have gone unseen. On top of the meaning I get from my work, I think what I choose to paint has given me a greater appreciation for our world around us. I am always looking for good subject matter for paintings, and I think that has allowed me to see what is beautiful, cool, funny or just interesting in life. For me, it has enriched my life tremendously to always look for beauty – and when I can show it to others, I find great satisfaction. I feel like when I can create, and make connections with others through my artwork, my time has been spent well. To me, that is way more rewarding than the paycheck I get from my job.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I used to think sales and money would be determine if I was successful or not. I wanted to be able to support myself with my work, and thought if I could attain that, I would feel successful. I still believe that this is one measure of success, but it is no longer my primary goal. Now I mostly want to do work that I know is good. I often finish a painting, and wish it was better. So, I begin the next one with the goal of doing something better than I just did. It’s a never ending cycle of wanting to improve. That is the main goal that motivates me. The other goal that keeps me working is the hope that I can do something that inspires other people to create. When this happens, I know I have done something worthy. I love when people like my work and even more when they like it enough to purchase it, but when I know that something I have done ignites a creative spark in others, I feel like I have done something good. Like I mentioned earlier, when I listen to great music, or read a great book, I am grateful to the person who spent the time and effort to make that. I want to add to their efforts in the best way I can, which is through my paintings.

Contact Info:

• Website: jmoceanart.com
• Instagram: @jmoceanart
• Facebook: Jesse Miller’s Ocean Art
• Youtube: @jessemillersurfart