We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Pauline Jans a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Pauline thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
That’s a tough one,… My experience of creativity is that, it’s in our bones. All of us are creative,… just in different ways.
I grew up on a dairy farm, worked a lot and didn’t play enough but I found ways to eek out time and be creative. From scribbling small sketches in my Dad’s corn-planting notebook, to pretending I had my own farm in the sand box to carving a seal sculpture from clay & sand.
It’s true I that I didn’t pursue being an artist until later years, but rather chose a practical route to a career that made money and that my parents approved of. But in the early days at about age 14, I had applied to an art school I’d seen on TV. They wrote back with kudos and said “you’re quite good, but too young”. For some reason, that felt like the end of the road for me.
After many years of practical work and life experiences I found my way back to art after two professional careers and a move across Canada. My time in Toronto, Ontario, as a hair colour technician taught me a lot about people, chemistry, colour and responsibility. My time in Vancouver, BC, as a senior graphic designer utilized my skills in precision, deadlines, and relationships, and developed my knowledge of design, marketing, and leadership.
This is where I appreciate having started my art journey later in life. Had I began making art when I was a kid, I’d have gone down the obvious route of making recognizable pictures. Being a country kid living far away from the exposure of city life and culture,… that’s what I understood art to be. I’d have followed that course. But having sidestepped an art journey for several years, I learned a lot about living,… the tough, the joyful, the discipline, the disappointing, the rewarding, the heartbreaking. By the time I got back to my passion I had something to express that words couldn’t touch.
Coming from a family of 7 kids and dutch, catholic, immigrant parents, finding my own way and listening to my own voice was going to take some time. And it did. I’m grateful I’ve taken this much time to get back to art. I know how to work, respect discipline, usually figure things out on my own, have life experiences to draw upon and comment on. It’s a very rich place to work from.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
After my career in Toronto, I began searching for something “else”. I moved to Vancouer, and took a few summer art courses, which lead me straight to enrolling in Langara College’s Fine Arts program. A strong curiosity to explore the creative drew me in. I took every course they offered. I absolutely loved design. It just made sense.
My instructors urged me to keep going after the 2 year program ended. I applied to Emily Carr University of Art & Design. Unable to decide which program I wanted, I applied to three… Sculpture, Painting, and Graphic Design. I figured, whichever one I was accepted in, that would be my next step. But, I was accepted into all three.
Being practically minded, I chose design. During the next 3 years at ECUAD, I also studied design in The Netherlands for 6 months as part of a student exchange program. Graduation was followed by working as a designer and making my way toward the creative director role. That never came to be, due to a corporate shuffle.
My personal and professional development was admittedly exponential having gone down these two career paths. Much of what I am able to do today – artist, teacher, mentor – directly relates back the experiences provided by my first two professional careers and how I pivoted after the ending of my design job.
Working comes naturally to me,… commitment, deadlines, problem solving, working within guidelines and respecting the needs of others. I was responsible for teaching junior creatives in both professional careers and in graphic design I led designers, as well as worked with a marketing team, writers and photographers. To be able to engage in art making having had these unique experiences backing me, is truly a gift that I’m grateful for.
Moving to the Okanagan Valley in BC’s interior after my design job ended gave me the freedom to return to my first passion. Unsure of next steps but wanting a purpose, my husband and I set up a guest suite here in wine country. I now also had a reason to paint,… to create art for the suite. I did that long enough until I could paint for myself.
My journey in painting started with representation but soon evolved into abstraction. I found myself getting agitated and frustrated by painting the landscapes around me. Exercising constant precision in my previous careers had caught up with me. I knew I needed to tap into something deeper and less obvious. My dive into abstraction wasn’t easy but with a whole lot of curiosity, tenacity, work, research, trial and error I caught my stride.
My love of and ability to share and solve problems has always been an asset and resurfaces in many ways. In 2019 I began offering help to others by coaching artists one to one. So many artists were confused about design. Within a year I created an online design course – Intuitive Composition – and then opened a mentorship for graduating artists – ICMe. This was a massive feat which I happily admit I’m proud of. I had no idea how to get information from my mind into a teaching platform, nevermind design an online course. But I did it anyway. A year later I created another course for artists hunting for their creative pathway – Creative Compass.
I love helping others. But, every-so-often circling back to my own creative compass is important and inevitable. When I feel the need, I selectively choose a course to take and also seek creative coaching to aid in my progress.
In 2022, I acquired representation from The Avenue Gallery, in Oak Bay on Vancouver Island. Super excited by this new development I realized I also needed to be aware of potential new challenges, … to stay creative and fresh, keep helping other artists, and continue to create authentic art.
I love my creative life. It challenges me every day in so many ways. I’m grateful to create art that resonates with and moves collectors. I feel both privileged and humbled by the artists that allow me to help facilitate their creative expression. I love how much I learn about myself and art making each and every day.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I believe in ideas, curiosity, listening to your intuition, following your inner guide. I’ve always been a curious person. I love that I ask a lot of questions (mainly of myself) and that I go hunt those answers down. It’s so rewarding.
We humans can often be influenced by what “we think others think of us”. The trouble with that though, is those thoughts were conjured up by ourselves. Those thoughts limit what we do, how we express ourselves and what we accomplish in our lives.
I’m a big advocate of following your curiosity, ideas and exploring. For me, that is true, authentic, self driven expression propelled only by me. With this one life to live, I want to make sure I am as true to my spirit as I can be. That means, staying curious, exploring, having courage to do and be me.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Being an artist is not an easy road but it is the absolute centre hub of my honest expression.
Making art, specifically abstract art, challenges me every day. Navigating and juggling the balancing act of knowing what I know – design & intuition – with what I don’t know – process & outcome – is absolutely fascinating to me. All that I gain from my art making is reflected in my life as well.
I feel the entire creative journey is vast and endless with a plethora of both learning and rewarding experiences. While I’ve learned a great deal from my first two professions, I feel that making art and sharing art and knowledge with others has enhanced my life the most. The incredible growth, awareness, and confidence I have gained in the years I’ve been a practicing and professional artist has been more than I could have ever imagined.
I am grateful to have this as my story.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.paulinejansart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulinejansart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paulinejansart/
- Youtube: Pauline Jans at paulinejansart
- Other: Pinterest – Pauline Jans Art
Image Credits
Pauline Jans