A self-proclaimed obsessive painter Jen Sievers art represents ‘joy’; blending fresh colors, sweeping lines and a contemporary edge her artworks often inspire lush coastlines, gleaming in vibrant light. Something here at Ella Baché we loved so much that we decided to team up with Jen to create the ultimate in Christmas Skincare Collections, labelled ‘Your Holiday Oasis’, and Sievers artwork exudes just that, an oasis.
So, to celebrate all things Bold Moves, we sit down with Jen to talk about her career journey, where she draws her daily inspiration from and the secret to taking people on that creative journey.
My journey came on suddenly, almost like a burst floodgate, I painted around the clock and soon realised that there is no ‘big break’ it’s a series of little wins, of dedication and showing up every day – I remember the day clearly, I put my 2-year-old daughter down for a lunch nap and had an insane urge to paint. By the end of the day, I had decided that I was going to be an artist, and I’ve never strayed from that thought. I painted obsessively every night after work, and all weekend. I posted on Instagram and approached my first gallery within two months of starting, they gave me my first foot in the door, which was such a thrill. It has been a journey of celebrating the wins, seeking out opportunities and saying YES, seven years on, my business has become much bigger and more exciting than I could have ever imagined.
“Starting out as an artist, it’s hard not to feel invisible. It took me a long time, a bit of luck and a lot of hard work to become seen and known for my art. There’s no easy way to solve the problem of invisibility – it comes down to showing up daily, approaching people boldly and sharing your work with confidence, even if you’re not 100% sure of it.”
My whole creative process revolves around joy – The act of painting is joyful for me, and I think a painting is a success if it makes people feel that joy when they see it. For me, my artworks all begin with a feeling – a sort of excitement and anticipation of what could be created, I really believe artists and creators infuse their energy into artworks, and I hope that people can feel that when they see my work. My huge, lofty goal is to make the world more joyful, one brush stroke at a time.
Coming up with my signature style took time and patience – I think this seems to be the case for many starting artists, it felt like I was pursuing too many different creative styles and mediums, and it felt scattered. But early on I had read ‘Big Magic’ by Liz Gilbert, it became my bible of creativity. Her ideas about how creativity works and flows through us just made so much sense to me. The tool that she gave me was to follow my curiosity, wherever it would take me, because our muse speaks to us via curiosity. And it worked! I kept seeking, experimenting, playing, and creating – and in time, I found my own creative voice.
“I think we’re all wired from birth to play it safe. We’re taught to favor a career with a steady income, even if it doesn’t fulfill us. The wonderful thing is, as soon as we tune into our own wisdom, rather than society or our conditioning the magic happens.”
The boldest move I ever made was quitting my day job, to become a full-time artist – I had a little voice inside my head telling me to quit my day job for about 2 years, but it seemed so risky. What I learnt is, if you ignore the little voice in your soul, it starts speaking louder and louder, eventually screaming, and if that doesn’t work it finds another way to make you listen. Mine was a breast cancer diagnosis, there’s nothing like the ‘C’ word to knock a bit of perspective into your life. So here I am, staring down the barrel of weekly radiotherapy post-surgery, a full-time job, a daughter to tend to and my own business to support – it became apparent that it was the time to make the leap. Since then, I have never looked back, my business has thrived ever since!
To ensure I live bold and authentically true to myself, I follow these three principles –
- Intuition, this is something I constantly check in on, and I gauge if something is right for me by a feeling in my gut, it never steers me the wrong way.
- Playfulness and curiosity, I approach each and every day with these two elements, this keeps me open to possibilities, and steers me away from the conditioning that might hold me back.
- Not believing everything that I think – Often our brains can come up with some crazy thoughts, it’s a daily habit to make sure the thoughts I listen to are trustworthy, intuitive, and real.
“If I was granted 20 seconds of insane courage I would close my laptop, jump on a plane to Thailand, soak up some sunshine and spend time with my twin brother, whilst taking photos of exotic landscapes to paint!”