We love talking to other artists to learn about their process and what inspires their work. There’s something fascinating about people who are constantly creating. Not long ago we came across Jenny Kiker’s [a.k.a @livingpattern] work online while doing inspiration research. It was a beautifully shaded painting of a tropical leaf that caught our eye.
We decided to check out Jenny’s Instagram feed and were immersed in an amazing world of nature, plants, and paintings. We clicked on image after image of beautifully styled paintings of cacti, tropical leaves, barnacles, butterflies and found ourselves wanting to learn more about the artist.
It turns out Jenny lives in West Palm Beach about an hour from our studio and her partner Chris went to high school with Ryan, our Art Director. Talk about a small world! We contacted Jenny to see if she would like to be featured on our blog to share her work with all of you. Check out our conversation below.
hc: Tell us a little about yourself and your company, Living Pattern.
LP: I am a traditional artist who focuses on flora and fauna using watercolor and ink. I sell original artwork. Prints and textiles coming soon!
hc: It’s obvious your inspiration is nature. How do you continually find new elements?
LP: I grow most of my inspiration myself. My studio gets great morning light and it is an indoor greenhouse. Recently, I’ve been working from a collection of photographs taken at Monet’s garden in France. And of course, I go out in nature to find it myself!
hc: We saw one of your recent Instagram posts was a picture of the largest cicada species on earth that you had ordered. We thought it was so cool that you had ordered an actual specimen. Is this something you do on a regular basis? Why?
LP: Yes, I order all kinds of reference if I can’t find it locally. I have developed quite the collection of cacti from our favorite nursery Amelia’s in Lake Worth. I strongly believe in completely surrounding yourself with your inspiration.
hc: How much time do you spend creating your artwork vs. managing other aspects of your business?
LP: I’d say 70/30, creating art vs. shipping, emailing, social media, accounting. Chris, my partner, handles my graphic design and web work. It’s amazing to have a symbiotic relationship!
hc: You have an amazing Instagram following. What do you attribute that to?
LP: I am very engaged with my audience, they are amazing and keep me inspired! Photography is very important, I always have the tripod out and wait for the perfect lighting. I love styling too, a consistent feed is a must!
hc: Our work is in the branding and marketing world and we could potentially use your artwork as digital illustrations in our designs for clients. Is that something you would consider or do you prefer that your creations remain as individual works of art? There’s no wrong answer here. We’re just curious how you feel about that. Every person is different.
LP: I really appreciate the aura of an original piece of art and art being displayed as art.
hc: How do you think custom art can distinguish a brand?
LP: For me, the art is the brand. To elaborate on the previous question, using it as digital illustrations would imply that it represents a business, but it is important to me that Living Pattern art only represents itself.
hc: What advice would you give to young artists who are looking for a way to create a business around their art?
LP: Go make! Then get ready for failure and learn how to move on until you find just the thing that works.
hc: And most importantly, what’s your studio music playlist? LOL We listen to music all day in the studio so we had to throw that in there.
LP: I love love a nice thunder storm playlist. When it’s music, I’m listening to the RHCP… haha everyone knows my obsession.
It was great talking to you Jenny! Thanks so much for chatting with us.
Check Jenny out on Instagram @livingpattern and, of course, us @heliumcreative.
We decided to check out Jenny’s Instagram feed and were immersed in an amazing world of nature, plants, and paintings. We clicked on image after image of beautifully styled paintings of cacti, tropical leaves, barnacles, butterflies and found ourselves wanting to learn more about the artist.
It turns out Jenny lives in West Palm Beach about an hour from our studio and her partner Chris went to high school with Ryan, our Art Director. Talk about a small world! We contacted Jenny to see if she would like to be featured on our blog to share her work with all of you. Check out our conversation below.
hc: Tell us a little about yourself and your company, Living Pattern.
LP: I am a traditional artist who focuses on flora and fauna using watercolor and ink. I sell original artwork. Prints and textiles coming soon!
hc: It’s obvious your inspiration is nature. How do you continually find new elements?
LP: I grow most of my inspiration myself. My studio gets great morning light and it is an indoor greenhouse. Recently, I’ve been working from a collection of photographs taken at Monet’s garden in France. And of course, I go out in nature to find it myself!
hc: We saw one of your recent Instagram posts was a picture of the largest cicada species on earth that you had ordered. We thought it was so cool that you had ordered an actual specimen. Is this something you do on a regular basis? Why?
LP: Yes, I order all kinds of reference if I can’t find it locally. I have developed quite the collection of cacti from our favorite nursery Amelia’s in Lake Worth. I strongly believe in completely surrounding yourself with your inspiration.
hc: How much time do you spend creating your artwork vs. managing other aspects of your business?
LP: I’d say 70/30, creating art vs. shipping, emailing, social media, accounting. Chris, my partner, handles my graphic design and web work. It’s amazing to have a symbiotic relationship!
hc: You have an amazing Instagram following. What do you attribute that to?
LP: I am very engaged with my audience, they are amazing and keep me inspired! Photography is very important, I always have the tripod out and wait for the perfect lighting. I love styling too, a consistent feed is a must!
hc: Our work is in the branding and marketing world and we could potentially use your artwork as digital illustrations in our designs for clients. Is that something you would consider or do you prefer that your creations remain as individual works of art? There’s no wrong answer here. We’re just curious how you feel about that. Every person is different.
LP: I really appreciate the aura of an original piece of art and art being displayed as art.
hc: How do you think custom art can distinguish a brand?
LP: For me, the art is the brand. To elaborate on the previous question, using it as digital illustrations would imply that it represents a business, but it is important to me that Living Pattern art only represents itself.
hc: What advice would you give to young artists who are looking for a way to create a business around their art?
LP: Go make! Then get ready for failure and learn how to move on until you find just the thing that works.
hc: And most importantly, what’s your studio music playlist? LOL We listen to music all day in the studio so we had to throw that in there.
LP: I love love a nice thunder storm playlist. When it’s music, I’m listening to the RHCP… haha everyone knows my obsession.
It was great talking to you Jenny! Thanks so much for chatting with us.
Check Jenny out on Instagram @livingpattern and, of course, us @heliumcreative.
0 comments: