Today we’d like to introduce you to Jovana Knezevic Brankovic.
Jovana, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
Since early childhood, I showed talent and love for drawing. All the notebooks, books and wallpapers in my home were filled with my drawings. My parents never stopped my creativity, and I was allowed to paint everywhere and whatever I wanted. But when older people asked me what I would like to do for a living when I grow up, I would tell them I wanted to be a veterinarian. I never taught I would be an artist. My art story started during my high school years when I painted my aunt’s dog, and my art teacher was convinced that the drawing in question, was not my work and that it must have been painted by some older person with a lot of skills and art experience. I was very angry and disappointed at that point. I remember I coming home and complaining to my mom that I was accused of fraud and that my teacher thinks I’m not capable of drawing a ”stupid”dog. As always my mom saw something good in it and asked me if I want to go to art school. I decided to listen to my mom and started attending private art classes which I found so satisfying that I decided to study Visual Arts and turn my art into a career.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I’ve always looked for inspiration in people and places around me. As an expressionist, I always needed space, huge canvases and lots of paint so I can express my feelings and energy. I desire to show people the world through my eyes and my feelings. For me, a black vase is more than just a black object, but rather it is black with some yellows, greens, and blues along with its unique shine and structure that I feel a need to convey to others.
What I love doing most, is large paintings, and creating large series of multiple artworks centered around the same theme. In the past two years, I’ve moved a lot, which often times I meant didn’t have the space or energy for such work, so I turned to sketching my dog. After a couple of drawings, I began to realize how much I enjoy interpreting all of his expressions. He is a great muse and one of the best models I ever had. He always has the time to pose for me, especially if treats are involved. I find creating these miniature illustrations very relaxing and inspiring. People recognized the energy in those miniatures, so I expanded on the whole idea and began drawing other people’s loyal companions.
I never work on only one piece at a time, because I never have just one idea on my mind. Parallel work helps me to expand on my ideas, and when I start struggling with one piece, I simply move on to the next which eventually inspires me to go back to the original. Doing multiple works at once allows me to carry over inspiration from one to the other.
I found moving to San Diego very inspiring, the sounds of the ocean, San Diego’s vegetation, the vast California landscape, pink and purple sunsets, There is something so magical about living that I couldn’t resist, but to try to paint all those colors. I want these paintings to remind all Californians how special they are to be witnesses of such powerful and magical scenes of nature. We need to use them to at least for a moment escape our daily problems and enjoy the peace and fulfillment that they offer.
How do you think about success, as an artist, and what do quality do you feel is most helpful?
In my opinion, if you are able to support yourself and your family by doing arts, you are a successful artist. In my case the key to success was ambition. Having a strong desire to succeed is part of the journey to actually succeeding. Success and dedication go hand in hand, so you need to work hard and be dedicated to your art, Practice every day and always try to surpass yourself. You need to persist and pursue your art career, even when it gets tough.
So being a successful artist is not an easy thing, but it is not impossible to achieve. I believe that hard work, patience and desire can take us where we want to be.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I’ve had numerous independent and group exhibitions, however moving to California, I moved more towards social media. I have a portfolio on Behance, Saatchi, and other online art platforms, as well as an art-focused Instagram page. Through these, I hope to connect with new people, which hopefully leads to artist collaborations, sales, and promotions of my work.
Contact Info:
- Email: jovana.knezevic.brankovic@gmail.com
- Instagram: jkb__art
- Facebook: JKB Art
Image Credit:
jkb__art
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