Have you ever felt a deep-seated passion that guides your life's work? Rebecca Jack, an esteemed Atlanta-based painter, joins us to unravel the canvas of her life, from the bustling creativity of a Seattle artist loft to the vibrant hues that now fill her studio. Venture with us through Rebecca's transformative journey as we uncover the symbiotic relationship between art and interior design, and how embracing one's roots can ignite a firestorm of inspiration and growth.
As we navigate the colorful corridors of Rebecca's self-taught path, we unearth the mental gymnastics involved in shifting from interior design to full-time artist. Discover how the discipline of routine, the freedom of play, and the embrace of a support network can be your palette for success. Rebecca divulges her secrets to maintaining creativity in the face of life's practical demands, crafting a story that resonates with anyone looking to harmonize their passion with the rhythm of daily life.
Our conversation doesn't shy away from the raw, unfiltered aspects of the creative process. We tackle the joy and struggle of color harmony, the beast of self-doubt, and the courage it takes to share your soul's work with the world. Rebecca's insights into self-acceptance and redefining success are like brushstrokes that help paint a more joyful and sustainable artistic practice. Join us for an episode that celebrates the artist's voyage and leaves you inspired to explore your own creative endeavors, all while enjoying the latest collection of Rebecca's expressive figurative work.
Connect with Rebecca Here
Connect with Lea Ann Here
Have you ever felt a deep-seated passion that guides your life's work? Rebecca Jack, an esteemed Atlanta-based painter, joins us to unravel the canvas of her life, from the bustling creativity of a Seattle artist loft to the vibrant hues that now fill her studio. Venture with us through Rebecca's transformative journey as we uncover the symbiotic relationship between art and interior design, and how embracing one's roots can ignite a firestorm of inspiration and growth.
As we navigate the colorful corridors of Rebecca's self-taught path, we unearth the mental gymnastics involved in shifting from interior design to full-time artist. Discover how the discipline of routine, the freedom of play, and the embrace of a support network can be your palette for success. Rebecca divulges her secrets to maintaining creativity in the face of life's practical demands, crafting a story that resonates with anyone looking to harmonize their passion with the rhythm of daily life.
Our conversation doesn't shy away from the raw, unfiltered aspects of the creative process. We tackle the joy and struggle of color harmony, the beast of self-doubt, and the courage it takes to share your soul's work with the world. Rebecca's insights into self-acceptance and redefining success are like brushstrokes that help paint a more joyful and sustainable artistic practice. Join us for an episode that celebrates the artist's voyage and leaves you inspired to explore your own creative endeavors, all while enjoying the latest collection of Rebecca's expressive figurative work.
Connect with Rebecca Here
Connect with Lea Ann Here
Welcome to Mind Over Medium, a podcast for artists who want to make money doing what they love. When you tune in a twink you will learn how to attract your ideal commissions, approach galleries for representation, have a great online launch of your work, and how to do it all with less overwhelm and confusion. You will have the opportunity to hear from amazing artists who will share how they have built their successful creative businesses. My hope is to create a space where artists and the creative curious can gather to learn about one of the most important tools creative entrepreneurs need in their toolbox their mindset. Thanks so much for tuning in to Mind Over Medium podcast. Let's get started. Hello, today I am excited to chat with Rebecca Jack. Rebecca is an artist who works intuitively, creating vibrant figurative works that highlight the beauty of imperfection through visible layering, expressive brushwork that was hard for me to say and mark making and, I would add, use this color in a bold, fresh way. I really appreciate you being here today.
Speaker 2:Thanks, Leanne, for having me. I'm excited. Happy Friday.
Speaker 1:You too. I know this week has flown by, I know, so the listeners can get to know you. I like to ask a couple questions of my guests, so I will present these questions to you. One is multi step and I can repeat them if you need me to. One is to introduce yourself. Tell us who you are, where you live and what you do. And then the second one is describe a time in your life when you felt the most creative.
Speaker 2:Well, hi everyone, I'm Rebecca Jack and I am a painter in Atlanta, georgia. I primarily work in acrylic and oils and I do figurative work mostly. And then the second question is a time where I'm most create, felt most creative, I would have to say. Well, there's two times. One is right now. I've been like I guess I've had like a lot of pent up creative energy for many years. So the past two or three years I've just been letting it all out.
Speaker 2:But prior to that I had a very creative time when I first moved to Seattle. I had just graduated from design, interior design school and made a huge move out West and I just started getting back into painting. And then, over a couple of years, I ended up moving down to downtown Seattle and Pioneer Square and I lived in a loft and I was surrounded by all these creative. There was actors, dancers, other painters, musicians, and so you just had creative energy all around you and it was just a really fun time. I was young and I had no obligations other than my job at the time and so we just we did performances and art walks and it just was a really fun time in my life and really inspired me.
Speaker 1:That's so great and I mean what a gift that you gave yourself, that you took that risk, because it had to be scary, I would think.
Speaker 2:I think, like when I was that like in my 20s I would it was easier to take 100% entry by myself in my car and just came along the way. I mean I did things like I look back and like, wow, I did that. I don't know if I would do that right now, but yeah, it's funny I have.
Speaker 1:That's so fun, Do you have? Do you keep in touch with any of those people from that time A few actually?
Speaker 2:actually one gallery that I'm working with right now in Seattle. I knew from that period of time we oh, that's great. So the one you just had a show.
Speaker 1:Yes, oh, that's so fun. What a full circle moment for you. I bet that solo show was in Seattle recently.
Speaker 2:It was wild and we briefly talked about this. But just this person that you were years ago, and like going back and revisiting and seeing that person, that past personality, from a perspective now that, as I've, years have gone by and I've kind of ensured and whatnot, but just revisiting who I was back then was quite fascinating for me and he was a great person for me. Yeah, yeah, how I was living and what I was exposing myself to and thinking about the people, my friends and the work and all that. So it was interesting. Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 1:Well, you and I know each other because we're both at Atlanta Artists Collective and we were at a show a couple weeks ago I guess it was maybe the first part of November and there was a part of our conversation I don't know if you remember it, but it stuck with me because we were talking about, like when we were young and the work that we created then and I think we were joking that our parents still had like old work or something like that. And I remember saying, oh my gosh, if you go into my parents' house, you know there's old florals and botanicals and things. I'm like we could probably replace those. And you were saying that you discovered old work of yours and it was all primarily figurative.
Speaker 2:Yeah, from a very early age. I was actually home recently and my mom's was pulling out some old photos and some old just work that I did as a child, from as early as you know four or five, six, I don't know those early years under 10, for sure. And what struck me looking back because I had forgotten about all of that was just, my subject matter was all about people, groups of people, individual people, like it was about. Some were sad, some were happy. It was about the personalities and the figures and there was even some that were like almost like a cheerleading squad where they were stacked on each other. I mean, it was just. It was wild and fascinating to see that this through line, through my career, has always been a fascination with people and things.
Speaker 1:I just think that's so interesting that I mean we both have a very similar story with that and I wonder if most artists do. I would guess maybe. So I don't know how unique we are with that, but I found it just a really interesting conversation.
Speaker 2:I think that if you can reflect back and just look at what you are drawn to over the years, you can start to see some patterns and things that you can kind of clarify for yourself. Like this is what I'm interested in and I see that through the years like color figures. For me it's also like bold patterns and graphicness. So shapes I'm always like. Even when I was more focused on abstract, it was more shape oriented and dealing with the form. So I see that still in my figures and I'm still working on connecting those two elements, bringing out the shapes that are in the figure.
Speaker 1:So yeah, do you feel like your background as an interior designer has impacted your work now as a painter?
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely, it's probably twofold. I mean, there's always the design elements, the color I love. I definitely have a passion for interior design and love perusing through design magazines or on my Instagram feed, it's all interior accounts, or at least the majority of them are. So I definitely get inspired when I see spaces. But I think also it's the when you're designing space, interior spaces, you're thinking about these spatial components and there's also a feeling and an emotional impact that you're wanting to provide for the person who's experiencing the space. So I think there's that element to where I'm trying to create an emotional experience in my work, where people can have a direct connection to it, feel something and, yeah, and so I'm also, the subject matter in my work is a lot of the interior landscape of a person, so exploring all of those things that are interior spaces, so to speak.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm, yeah, I love that how you made that connection. Can you talk about the transition from you know your interior design career to becoming you call yourself self-taught correct artist?
Speaker 2:I'm pretty much self-taught. I've taken classes here and there. I did not get a formal education in 19.
Speaker 1:What was that transition like?
Speaker 2:It was slow, very slow it was a lot of wishing and dreaming and thinking about it, but I really didn't take the action along in getting myself in alignment with that until a few years ago.
Speaker 2:And so I had a career about 20 years in interior design and it was very helpful for a period of time, but then I kind of lost my passion for actually doing the work and started throughout my life.
Speaker 2:I always kept getting pulled back to painting and I knew in my cells that I'm a painter through and through.
Speaker 2:But getting that right mindset or feeling like I can do, that this is actually a possibility for me, was a huge stumbling block, and so I think I finally just got so fed up with like I'm not happy in my job and I really want to be doing painting, and so I started taking small actions and just made a commitment to myself that this is gonna be.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna give this a try and stay committed and work consistently and really see where this is going, cause a lot of fear that was holding me back was what if it wasn't successful, then what do I have? I have nothing to envision for my life, like. It just felt that kind of not sounds kind of drastic, but I mean of course I have other things, but that was like something so important to me that I wanted to be able to do and that brings me so much joy that if I wasn't able to make that happen it was scarier. So it just got to that point where it's like do you live with regret of never trying or do you push through that fear and see what magic can happen on the other side?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you know, I think the two words that really stood out for me when you were talking about it were one was commitment and two was consistency. And I think those two things together are what we need to have to move us forward. And a lot of times it's a very slow process and we think our when we want it to be quick and easy, and it's generally not, absolutely not. Yeah, it's not, it's quite painful. And two, I think we see, because of social media and all, just where we are in this time in the world, we see the end product. We don't see the commitment, the consistency, the falling down and getting back up. So I mean, did you have any support? Or like, what kind of structure did you have in place for yourself to be able to stay with it? Because I'm sure there were times you were like ugh, I don't know, this is gonna work.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think what happened was A, I had to find the time to paint, and so I found a book called Daily Painting, which was huge. I think I've talked it all the time. I love that book. It's so good.
Speaker 2:It just sometimes. It's just these little mental shifts that happen and I can talk about another one that in a little bit. But for this particular hurdle it was finding the time to paint because I was working I'm a mom it just felt like I was tired at the end of the day and that's the time that I had. So this book helped me get in the studio just by getting the mental hurdle of like I'm just going to do 10, 15 minutes up there and I'm gonna play. So I really took the pressure off of okay, I see these people on Instagram that I really wanna be like they're killing it over here. But here I am and it's not. My work is not looking like I want it to look like over here.
Speaker 2:And so I just gave myself the freedom to play and I also gave myself, bringing in that commitment and consistent action, that it's only gonna be 15, 20 minutes and by working on small pieces you can actually accomplish certain things and kind of move forward. And it really wasn't about the 15 minutes, it was about or like, whatever I could accomplish in that time. It was more about getting used to being up there after work, because what I found was the more that I went up there, the more that I was able to sustain longer periods of time because I was receiving energy from art making. So the hardest part was just walking in the studio and getting started. And once I started doing that, it just this momentum built up and I became more and more committed and start craving that time, and it also was very fulfilling for me to be doing that and releasing out that expression that I needed to express. So was that? Yeah, no that's perfect.
Speaker 1:And it's almost like and I think I probably talked about this before on this podcast it's almost like going to the gym. It's like you don't really want to go but you feel better when you go, and it's just like you said, getting to the studio was the thing that. Then you could start taking action. And I think, too, the commitment part. I think it can be so easy to put our wants and needs on the back burner because of your job, your family, whatever else that list can be so long but sometimes we just have to plant our flag and be like no, this is what I'm doing, I want to see this through. So I think you should be really proud of yourself for being able to do that.
Speaker 2:Thank you. That is something I'm very proud that I was able to make stuff because it taught me with other things in my life and I am working on a little personal balance of taking care of myself physically by exercising consistently, and I'm using that same strategy. I'm just going to work out for 30 minutes. I do feel better and I even think connecting with the exercise is affecting my creative practice in a positive way and I have more energy and I'm in a better mood. So I think that sometimes you do have to put yourself first so you can be a better person.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree. Well, that kind of leads me to my next question Do you have this kind of like a practical question? Do you have things that you do to support your creativity? I mean, you know some like journaling. I'm just throwing things out there. I don't know what it might be like a sketchbook, practice meditation, like. Do you have anything like that?
Speaker 2:So not, I don't journal, though I would like to do that and I would like to be. I guess, if we're talking about goals, anything I'm here.
Speaker 2:And you know the sketchbook. I'm not. I'm not very consistent with that, but I do work on like small little studies, like loose pieces of paper, and those are kind of similar, I think, to a sketchbook practice where I play and express ideas and work with different colors, and it kind of is a good warm up for me. But lately I've been really taking a lot of time to create space in my mind. So when I'm driving I've been a little bit more intentionally maybe to turn off the radio for 15, 20 minutes and really try and just be more open in my mind.
Speaker 2:So the goal for that is just to have like, if you have this busy mind with all these thoughts and to do lists and things like that, then there's no room for ideas to filter in. Like I feel like there's like a whole cloud of ideas out there in the universe and they're looking for open minds to just download some thoughts, or maybe it's something that is within you that kind of can bubble up to the surface, but if there's no space there, then it's, it can't come through. So I think that's been something that's been helpful for me. And of course I love taking time away from painting not too much time but just sometimes going on a trip and coming back I can like knock out paintings that maybe have been I've been struggling with, yeah, coming from a fresh perspective, yeah, and I think exercise has been also like a great way to feel energized towards the world, and I'm always on Pinterest and looking at art history and books that I have in my studio, so I think, like all of those things just kind of help stay inspired.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and your comment about that creating some quiet space for yourself. I was just talking to a friend of mine and she has started taking like phone free walks, like. She's like I leave my phone at home if I'm walking the dog or whatever, and I started doing that because usually I'll pop in my, you know, my air buds Is that what they're called? Air? Yeah, is that the right word? I think no earphones, and you know, and I'll listen to something and I'm like wait, I feel like, and then it made me really think. I'm like I think I'm listening to something almost all of the time. Yes, and it's kind of sneaky.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I felt that too, like you always have this impulse to fill that space with something, and so, yeah, I agree, I'm always in the car I have a podcast on or something, an audio book, or when I'm walking and thinking and checking my email or whatever, yeah, into a podcast. So podcasts are great, but sometimes yes, but we need a break.
Speaker 1:We need to get our ears to break. So, yeah, I think that's a great idea. What's the other book you were referencing?
Speaker 2:The other book wasn't. It wasn't necessarily a book, it just the idea. A friend, a good friend of mine, said the other day I was complaining about not having enough time. I feel like I was just always in the same state of mind of I'm not. I never have enough time to do things that are for me, like exercising or making that green juice, you know, just things that are that are important to me, or taking some time to rest.
Speaker 2:I was just constantly trying to fill this work mode and she said to me Rebecca, there's never enough time. And it's so simple. But I'm like, you're right, there's never going to be enough time. So why am I killing myself to make these things? And, yes, you, you have certain deadlines and things you have to do, but I need to, like, start carving out time of how I want to live my life. So for the long run too, like I want to be here for a long period of time so I can make a lot of art and painting and also have a healthy life, long life. So that just I don't know what it was about that statement, because it sounds like so obvious, but it really hit me in a different way, and so it's helped shift my mindset to be a little bit more balanced in my work and my life. And yeah, and like I said earlier, it was the exercises, and taking care of myself is also coming full circle back to the artwork, so I think it all connects.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I totally agree with you, and I always think it's interesting how I think there's some kind of saying, like you, you hear the words at the right time, like maybe, you know, two months ago someone could have said that to you. It would have just, you know, passed right over you, but it was the right time for you to hear that. So I always liked those little moments like that. So like, what adjustments have you made then?
Speaker 2:if you feel like you want to talk about that, Well, like being okay with stepping, like just not being able to say like I just need to rest or I need to go, like let's call a friend and go have a cup of coffee, like really connecting, making more of those connections, because that also feeds me. I feel energized when I have time with my friends and then, or spending time with my family or just taking, not feeling guilty about taking pleasure in time for myself. So exercise I've been more consistent with that and, yeah, just taking care of myself in general, instead of just being burnt out and working all the time, which is, I mean, I love that too. I love working and I'm passionate about what I'm doing, but sometimes it's counterproductive. Yeah, don't take care of yourself.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and I do think what we do is a pretty holistic career and, like you said, everything kind of works together to help us bring out these ideas that we have. So I mean, I think it makes sense that an exercise routine has helped your creativity. I think it's all so interconnected and I'm sure there's scientific ways to explain that that I cannot explain it that way. But yeah, that makes perfect sense to me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I think, like with painting which is maybe unusual for a career you have to be in a it's the state of mind that you're in when you're creating. That is the most important, I think, because that's directly come. At least for me it's directly coming out onto the canvas. So if I'm tired, or if I'm grumpy, like I don't know just, or if I'm happy and joyful, then you know, I see that in my work. So if you're tired and like not feeling great, then that can show up too.
Speaker 1:So yeah, do you ever have creative blocks and if so, how do you deal with them?
Speaker 2:Yes and no, like I think I certainly get stuck. I've never been like in a complete rut, but, but I'm sure that's possible for that to happen too. But I feel like when I'm working I'm I'm always starting it's. I don't know what's going to happen, but it's kind of an exciting part place to be where you're, you're putting marks and colors and shapes onto the canvas and you're waiting for that painting to kind of come together and start to show you what it wants to be.
Speaker 2:I'm constantly looking at art. I'm looking at my art, I'm looking at interiors. I think there's lots of inspiration that's always around. But sometimes, when I'm like getting stuck on a painting, I have to like completely destroy it, and that sounds kind of harsh, I guess, but that's sometimes the only way to move forward is to like put a big slash through something or like completely, even if there's a part of it that I love, that I might just have to block that out. Those type of things are.
Speaker 2:I just look at it as part of the process and that I might have learned something by painting that. But if it's not serving the whole, then I have to kind of wipe that out and make the painting. But yeah, I think the work just kind of builds on itself in a way, and I'm always kind of trying to push the figuration with the abstraction, and so I always tend to tighten up more than I want to, and so I'm always pushing, trying to get closer to that goal, and so that kind of always keeps me on that trajectory. But yeah, I mean, I think the goal for me is just to keep painting and keep trying. And yeah, I think like destroying something that's not working is a great. Yeah, I totally agree.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm with you on that one and I have this. There's, I would say, 99% of the time it feels like for me and you can say if it's the same for you. There's a time in a painting where it's like I get anxiety. I'm like this isn't working, this isn't working, and it's just like I know enough now that I just have to keep moving forward with it or maybe set it aside for a day or two, but not to give up. And it's like the stage of the work that it feels a little scary when you're in it, not like you know something terrible is going to happen. You're like, oh, am I going to be able to figure this out?
Speaker 2:Yeah, do you feel that Absolutely? And I've also learned like sometimes I just need to put it away and start on something else. Sometimes it's months and sometimes it's not. That, sometimes I just need to go take a vacation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, but something else I was going to say about that, but unless my thought it's something that all the time, oh, what I was going to say was like these for me, the paintings are very much have their own voice, especially when they get developed to a certain point, and so they're very specific on what they want, and if you're not performing, it's going to tell you.
Speaker 2:And so I think sometimes, when you're stuck with something and why it's good to put it away, is because you don't have that information just yet and you need to work on something else. And then, once you have that experience through working on other pieces, sometimes coming back to that with that experience will help you resolve it. So you might be working on a painting that you had to destroy and that through that destruction, it helped you. Oh, I can take that solution and maybe apply it to this other one that I had been struggling with. So that's I find interesting of acknowledging that the painting has a voice too, and it's not just the artist that you're working together to bring it to life.
Speaker 1:Mm, hmm, Do you have any kind of I think I don't know rituals the right word but any kind of process like before you get started working for the day, like when you're painting, that you do, or reduce, jump right in, get going?
Speaker 2:I'm always feeling like I never have enough time and it's the time taking from the time my son goes to school to time to pick him up. So I tend to jump right in. But I mean, other than, like I make my coffee, I take a try and take a dog on a walk before I get started. But sometimes I can't wait and I'm trying to exercise prior to getting started. But other than that, as far as like painting practice, it depends on where I'm at.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I feel like I just need to move the brush on a big canvas, but most of the time I try and like warm up with some small study. But if it's a big canvas and it's not very developed, like that's a great way to just to warm up by just throwing color down. I don't get, I don't get too worried about a blank canvas, like I don't, that doesn't scare me. I just because I just know it's going to be a bunch of work, very intuitively, and I just throw a bunch of colors down in shapes, subconsciously or unconsciously, and just kind of start to create these relationships and maybe visual problems to solve and it just keeps going from there. But I think being a little bit mindless in the beginning and just allowing yourself to play is great.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cool to have Definitely. Did you grow up in a creative home or family?
Speaker 2:My mother I did have creativity all around me. My mother is was an art teacher growing up and also has her own art practice. Oh, that's great. Definitely brought painting and drawing and just all kinds of crafts growing up. So, yeah, it's so fun Been a part of my life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's great. You have a release dropping today, don't you?
Speaker 2:Did I see that? Oh well, yeah, Sorry.
Speaker 1:I did a little research where I was like Right, that's all.
Speaker 2:I should put that on my to-do list. I released Sun works to my. I have, you know, a collector list and so I give them a preview, and so I did that yesterday, so I forgot. Thank you for reminding me. Yeah, no problem, release it to the rest of the world.
Speaker 1:That's great. How do you? Oh, now, I just lost my track of thought. We are a great pair today.
Speaker 2:You can always count on me for losing my track of thought. Oh my goodness, oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:What do you feel like, what do you believe about your ability to create what you want?
Speaker 2:Ooh, that's a good question. What do I believe about my ability to create what I want? I mean, I feel like as I continue working, my confidence keeps growing in that department. I've used a lot of. I've been painting for years, so I've used a lot of my experience over the years of playing with abstraction, with doing portrait painting, figurative drawing, even like floral paintings. So I think like all those things start to come together.
Speaker 2:But I mean, I'm never really like 100% satisfied with my work. I'm always wanting to push it further and I still have visions in my head of what I want my artwork to look like and feel like that I'm not quite getting to, but I'm always looking at the color. Is the colors being? Are they working well together? There's like a magic formula for the colors vibrating and in sync with each other that I'm fascinating. So you know, it's just a process of working and trying to get better every day, but I mean I'm feeling good about where my work is. It's just that next, you know, it's like climbing. Yeah, now you get to the one level and then like okay, well, there's the next one to look towards.
Speaker 1:So yeah, do you take the time to enjoy the view from the level you're on, like kind of you know reflecting on oh wow, it took a lot of work to get here, because I know for me sometimes I can just like move on to the next goal and not even acknowledge a success or, you know, reaching something that I've been working towards.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm absolutely like that. I'm like, okay, that was great, that was cool, but now back to the next.
Speaker 2:What's next and that's fine. I think, like it's important to. I mean, I think it's important to acknowledge a success, and being having to talk about my work or being on podcasts have certainly maybe helped me take a step back and look at those successes. But but I really try and not get too much like in my head about it. It's like, okay, that was cool and exciting, but I still want to stay, I don't know, humble in a way too. And yeah, it's just really always exciting to me to be painting. Do you ever?
Speaker 1:struggle with imposter syndrome.
Speaker 2:I think I was the poster child for it, because years, years, I stayed small and didn't think that I was good enough to put my work out there and just felt, yeah, it just felt like I don't know, just scared that I wasn't. And it's hard. It's hard to explain, because part of me knew that I had this talent and that meant to be painting, but the other part of me was just, oh, I don't know if I'm good enough. And especially if you have, like now with social media, you see so many artists who are awesome and successful and, yeah, it's easy to say, well, I'm not there yet.
Speaker 1:Well, what prompted you to move through the fear and start putting your work out there?
Speaker 2:I think just being unhappy with where I was and wanting to make a shift, and so when the pain gets greater in that, then you just it's a great quote for a reason. Yeah, you have to move forward.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:So you felt the fear but I did it anyway and I mean it's still hard to put, it's easy but it's still hard to put releases out and put your work up for people to see. I mean it feels it's personal work and it feels very vulnerable. You know, I just feel grateful for the people who are there to support and encourage me. Even when I those times where I look back and I'm like the work is not that great, I still had people who were encouraging and positive things. So that definitely helps keep me going, for sure. Yeah, positive thing that Instagram does, where before social media you didn't really have that feedback as an artist, other than maybe friends and family or people who might see it elsewhere where it's up hanging in. So I think Instagram can definitely be a positive influence for artists. To get that, I think feedback is necessary too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree. If you could go back to when you started on this journey to becoming a painter, would you do anything different?
Speaker 2:I would start earlier, I would push past that fear earlier. Yeah, I feel like I mean everything happens in the right timing. Of course, sometimes you just need extra time to work through things. But yeah, I just I would take more risk and put myself out there more. I held myself back for so long because I didn't feel like I was ready.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think we look outside of ourselves to determine what ready is for us, and I do think it's an internal conversation or an internal decision. We get to decide what that means for us. But yeah, it's a complicated process for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it definitely is, and I think the mental state is probably the most important to work on. Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 1:What's an ideal day look like for you?
Speaker 2:Oh, and I have nothing on my schedule and I can just be in my studio. I have no commissions or responsibilities, it's just a day of play.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do you try to schedule those in or do you just? Do you ever schedule those in, or do they just sometimes happen like a happy accident?
Speaker 2:No, I don't schedule it in. Yeah, when it happens, it's like yay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I come the same. I'm like, oh my gosh, I have like three hours where something frees up or something cancels and I'm like, oh, feels like such a gift.
Speaker 2:But I did have an artist friend recently who was saying that she started scheduling things like social engagement, like if she's going to meet with friends or something, she'll do it on like a Friday, or if she's going to meet with clients, she tries to have that on Wednesdays or something like that to free up more time. So I thought that was awesome advice. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:I tried to do that too, because I was trying to shift gears too much from the business to the creative during the day, and it did not work for me at all.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I do set up my day Like I'll definitely make sure that I'm painting every day or almost every day, sometimes like that just doesn't, it just doesn't happen. But my goal is to paint every day and I'll try. And if I have shipping or some kind of business thing to do, I tend to try and get that done in the afternoon and really have my mornings for creating.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I feel most creative in the morning as well, and I've tried to shift all that too, which has been helpful. What does self-acceptance mean to you?
Speaker 2:Ooh, that's another good question I'm always trying to work on personally. But yeah, I think it's just being okay with where you are at this moment. It's okay to still want to be better and to have goals and constantly evolve and improve yourself, but it's still being like you're worthy and good enough in this moment, right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because I think it's hard to create or make any kind of lasting change from a place of harsh thoughts, negative, like really negative thoughts about ourselves or our value or our abilities. It's hard to sustain that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 1:How do you define success for yourself? I'm just bringing all the great things. I'm bringing the heat.
Speaker 2:Gosh, you know it's actually very simple. There's so many things that can happen that are amazing If you get published or so-and-so by your work. But really for me, success is am I getting to do what I love every day? Am I supported with that? Then do I have a beautiful space to work in and come down and just play? That's success to me. That's all I want to be doing really. The other stuff is just gravy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's great. Where do you look for inspiration if you're feeling a little tapped out?
Speaker 2:I mean, I like to have a bunch of art books here. I like going on Pinterest. I also love. Lately I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos about artists' process and I find that really interesting to see. It's really thinking about how they approach their work. How are they thinking. I find that fascinating and can be inspiring. Sometimes I take courses I just signed up. It was just one of those that you can watch anytime, but it was a collage class. I just really love this. I think her name's Peggy Kroll. I love her work. It's very graphic and simplified. She can take these images and then cut them up and mismatch them. I like that. Sometimes, just having those types of experiences will help spark something new. I might start adding I have done collage a little bit in my work and maybe start adding that, but it might be that I just like this simplified, graphic look that I can emulate in my work. That's a little different, just a little bit different. I think those are great ways to get inspiration.
Speaker 1:Yeah that is fun. What do you have going on? What do you want to share with people? Where can they find you? What do you have people know about your release?
Speaker 2:today. My website is wwwrebjackartcom. Today at 12 pm it will be, the lock will be off the website and you can shop some paintings. Then. I'm Rebecca Jack, an artist on Instagram. You can also find the link in my bio. All the galleries and places I'm associated with yeah, so I'm in holiday mode. I'm getting ready to leave town next week. Where are you going?
Speaker 1:We're going to Germany to visit my family. Oh nice, Do you go every year?
Speaker 2:No, this is the first year that we've gone for Christmas. Last year we went somewhere around like October. This will be my first German Christmas. I bet that will be nice. Yeah, and then we're going to fly into Amsterdam, so I'm excited to go to the Van Gogh Museum and see what we can do. Have you been to the Van Gogh Museum? I have not. I've been to Amsterdam but I have not been to the Van Gogh Museum.
Speaker 1:I went last summer. It was spectacular.
Speaker 2:Oh, really Cool, this Van. Gogh. I forget what it was called. I'm not immersion, but they had this one. It was more of like video.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, like experience or something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I went back to that here in Atlanta with my son and I mean it's not the same as like seeing artwork in person. So I'm excited to share that with my son in Amsterdam to see him work.
Speaker 1:That would be great Nice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm just kind of winding down the year and wanting to finish up some paintings, but we'll see how far we get.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, we have a due date in a couple of days.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:I'm ready, but just like that always sneaks up on me and a lot of times I'll have the work done but I won't have like finished it. I won't have wired it or varnished it. I'm like, okay, me and just get it together.
Speaker 2:But the thing that if I could wave a magic wand and not have to do would be the photography. Oh gosh.
Speaker 1:You and me both.
Speaker 2:Just need to find somebody that's reasonably priced.
Speaker 1:I know and just could come in like once a month. Yes, that would be awesome, that would be amazing. Well, I appreciate you taking the time and it was lovely to chat with you and to see you. I really do appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Leanne. I appreciate you having me on and it was fun too.
Speaker 1:It's always nice to see you. We have to do it more instead of like once you know, a couple of times a year at the gallery.
Speaker 2:No, absolutely.
Speaker 1:I'd love that. Yeah, all right, thank you so much. Thank you, leanne. Thank you so much for listening to Mind Over Medium podcast today. If you found the episode inspiring, please share it with a friend or post it on social media and tag me on Instagram at Leanne Slotkin, or head to my website, wwwleannslotkincom. To book a discovery call to find out more about working with me one on one. You can also head to my website to get a great tool I've created for you to use when planning your own online launch of your artwork. It's an exercise I've taken many of my coaching clients through and it's been very helpful. It's my way of saying thank you and keep creating.