Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Newman.
Jessica, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I have often wondered if San Diego makes people happy, or if happy people move to San Diego. I think it’s both. The perfect temperature, blue skies, lush plants, and alluring ocean are infectious in their joy.
I grew up in a cold, gray place, Syracuse, New York, which has 163 days of sunny days and 110 inches of snow per year. Syracuse has its own beauty too, especially after a fresh snowfall, when the moon is full, the blue glow of the moonlight is everywhere, reflected off the snow. But Syracuse is no San Diego, where the beauty is constant and intense.
As a visual person I wanted to live in the most beautiful place possible, and I found it in San Diego.
I have been painting since high school. My undergraduate degree is in Interior Design, and I’ve had a successful career as a designer. I now teach in the interior design and interior architecture programs at the Art Institute of California San Diego and New school of Architecture and Design. Throughout my design career, I never stopped painting, often taking lessons from artists in their studios in the different places I’ve lived. In 2014 I graduated with an MFA in painting, and a few years ago completed building my studio where I paint.
In 2013 I co-authored a book with Jack Beduhn “Perspective and Sketching for Designers.” We also have a YouTube channel with 35 free demonstration videos. The videos show us demonstrating techniques for drawing in perspective and sketching with markers.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I have chosen urban architecture and public space as the subject matter for my paintings. Buildings are the main way that we visually transform the world around us. They are an important part of our landscape, that tell a story about the people who built and use them. My goal is to create beautiful portraits of these structures hopefully uncovering the stories that these time capsules have locked inside of them.
I have spent the last twenty years working and teaching in architecture and design. My love of the built environment is obvious in my paintings, as I celebrate the buildings that I see. My completed paintings are medium-large, usually 30” x 40”, so that they are big enough for the viewer to enter the painting visually. Using oil or acrylic paint on canvas, I usually capture my buildings at sunset, which is moment of movement and transition.
I work out of my studio in South Park, a converted garage next to my house. My studio is my favorite place to be! What I hope people take away from my work is to take note of the beauty that surrounds us. In our age of increasing distractions, I think it’s a victory to get people to pause for a moment and enjoy their surroundings.
What do you think it takes to be successful as an artist?
I feel successful if I am creating work that I am proud of. I feel the most essential characteristic to success as an artist is to keep working, keep creating. I had a funny thing happen to me this month, where I had paintings accepted into two great shows, but I can’t participate in the shows because I already sold the paintings! I guess it’s a good problem to have.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
My website is jessicanewmanart.com. I often show my work around town at local galleries like Sparks Gallery, La Bodega Gallery, La Playa Gallery, and The Studio Door. Currently, I have two pieces at Sparks Gallery, and a piece at Open Mind Art Space in Los Angeles. I was recently commissioned to create an outdoor mural on a building on Adams Ave in Normal Heights, that I’m very excited about! I am also on Facebook and Instagram as jessicanewmanart. Please follow me for information on upcoming shows.
Contact Info:
- Website: jessicanewmanart.com
- Phone: 6198876648
- Email: jessica@jessicanewmanart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicanewmanart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessicanewmanart
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChefr_AYHac58u_oWXPkMKQ
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