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

Jodi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

This is actually a question I’ve never been specifically asked before. I was a bit surprised that one piece sprang to mind immediately, and I’m grateful for the reflection it spurred. It was a watercolor painting called “Transcendence” that I started on the cusp of making the leap to sell my art professionally. This was during the COVID pandemic when, outside of work, life seemed to stand still, giving me the chance for deeper introspection about my path in life and the opportunity to come back to creating more intentionally.

The inspiration for this piece was a remote self-portrait that popped up on my Facebook feed during the COVID lockdowns, posted by Denna Francesca, a Seattle musician and acquaintance of mine from the social dancing community. I was really struck by the dramatic angle and the way her pose carried a lightness and carefree vulnerability in defiance of the heavy isolation we were all feeling as a society. To me, it seemed to depict a refusal to be made invisible by a pandemic that had cut her off from a community of physical closeness and creative self-expression.

It started as simply a practice in figure drawing, but began to morph into a painting I felt compelled to carry through to a finished piece. At that point, I reached out to ask Denna if she was comfortable with her photo being used as art reference and open to the completed work being posted on social media, where I’d begun sharing my art publicly. I was so honored by her response. She shared that she felt the style in which I’d portrayed her captured the essence of who she was and how she saw herself. What she said stuck with me. “Thank you for making me feel seen and beautiful in a dismal year when I’ve felt so little of both.”

This painting was the first time I think I truly felt the power to use art to heal and to make someone feel deeply seen. Especially against the backdrop of the pandemic, my art suddenly mattered in a way it hadn’t before. For me, “Transcendence” represented the capacity of the human spirit to rise above the pain and isolation of a global pandemic. Through the background textures resembling water and sky, I also wanted to capture a sense of becoming more in oneness with nature.

That validation gave me the confidence I needed to officially start my art business that summer. It resulted in the sale of my first original painting as a self-employed artist when Denna asked to purchase the finished piece, and it shifted my artistic direction a bit. I still love painting landscapes and flowers, but since then, I’ve also been inspired to create in ways that both share my love of nature and capture the human experience.

Jodi, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m an artist in the Seattle area with a focus in pencil and watercolor. I grew up drawing and painting, but my childhood plan to be a career artist took a backseat when I discovered an interest in becoming a surgical nurse. Art remained a casual hobby through the years, but then the pandemic hit, and in the absence of many of the activities that had previously filled my time, I was suddenly faced with an opportunity to focus on creative pursuits I’d never made space for before. There were no longer any excuses to put off discovering what would happen if I finally tried out that career in art, so I set up my art business and started selling my work alongside my nursing job.

I sell both originals and prints of my pieces as well as greeting cards and postcards when vending at markets. My work has a heavy focus on nature, and I love exploring how the human experience is shaped by how we connect with the natural world. I believe that when we begin to see ourselves as a part of nature rather than separate from it, we find healing and a true sense of belonging in the world. I’m constantly in a learning phase of letting the process and the medium organically lead the way, but am naturally detail-oriented, and get truly lost in the meticulous intricacies of a drawing or painting. I love how the natural textures of watercolor complement the detail of pencil and fine brushwork.

A noticeable trait in my body of work that makes me a little different is that I tend not to restrict myself to one particular style and am always experimenting. It’s made me more versatile as an artist and keeps things exciting for me (and hopefully those who follow along with my journey). Though my style can be quite diverse, you’ll find relatively constant themes running through my artwork. I hope that my art encourages others to reflect on their own experiences through the beauty of nature, the search for connectedness with it, and the ways it offers healing.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Nothing makes me more fulfilled by what I create than someone telling me that they saw themself or their story in my art. I’m thrilled when I hear that they were reminded of a place they love, the awe they hold for Mother Nature, or a meaningful life experience. I love when people connect with my work in a way that triggers a deep emotional response.

I have to say that I’ve found it especially gratifying when one of my more melancholic pieces garners a reaction. I want to help others to appreciate the beauty in this world, but also to recognize sometimes that beauty is not just found in joy and sunshine. It lies in the authenticity of emotion, in the ways that we navigate pain, in the cycles of life and the changing of the seasons, and in the depth of relationships with others, with the natural world, and with ourselves.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

A lot of people have made the remark in some form of “That’s cool you get to do something you love all day.” While the support is so appreciated, that perception can sometimes skip over everything else going on behind the scenes. An artist as a sole proprietor with no employees wears many hats. In addition to creating, I’m responsible for marketing, bookkeeping, scanning, producing, and shipping prints, managing a website and emails, submitting applications for galleries and events, working markets, etc. A lot of running an art business involves the same types of tasks you’d expect to see in a traditional job description.

Aside from that, there is also a very normal ebb and flow to my creative output. There are times when I’m painting a lot, and times when life happens, creative energy changes, and production slows, as is currently the case in my first year of parenthood as I focus on my baby girl. I am incredibly fortunate and beyond grateful to get to work as an artist, but my artistic capacity can often be vastly overestimated. I’ve had to accept that creating slowly is simply how I best operate.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jodisun.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jodisunart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jomiekoart/