Jackie Anderson Art
A little while ago, we sat down to establish some pretty crazy goals for 2019. Right up the top of the list was our dream to host the first Jumbled 'Search for a Superstar' art competition, an opportunity for aspiring artists from across the globe to turn their side hustle into a fully fledged career. Being our first foray into this type of event, we hoped for maybe 30 entries, so when over 180 artists applied....we were COMPLETELY blown away!
One of those artists was Jackie Anderson, and as soon as we read her application we knew we were onto something super special. Her email was warm, funny and so friendly and her work; to die for! We instantly fell in love with Jackie's vibrant use of colour and energetic compositions, and caught up with her to chat ahead of her first release with Jumbled.
Jackie, CONGRATULATIONS! It was love at first sight for us, tell us how your art journey began. "I had a truly inspiring art teacher at primary school who I absolutely adored and I think she really sparked my love of all things art related. I also won a national art prize when I was just 5 years old and my winning painting (a self portrait) has been buried in a time capsule to be opened in 2085! So I guess you could say that was the beginning of my art career, I've just done a whole lot of other stuff between now and then."
Tell us about your move from NZ: "We moved over last year when my husband was offered a fantastic job in Newcastle, the opportunity to re-locate came at just the right time as we were getting itchy feet and keen to embark on a new adventure. We love exploring new places and I find it really fuels my creativity."
What made you enter the Jumbled Art Competition? "I had been a huge fan of Jumbled for quite some time and the idea of joining your art collective was quite literally a dream come true. Pip's passion and enthusiasm for art and artists is infectious! I could see my work adorning the walls at Jumbled and sitting beautifully alongside your other brands."
We all got quite teary telling you you'd won, how did you feel when you received the phone call from the Jumbled gang? "I completely lost it as soon as I heard Pip's voice! I knew it would be a career changing moment so was quite emotional and struggled to string together a coherent sentence!"
Where do you draw inspo? "I think basically I'm a big sponge constantly absorbing visual snippets and colour combinations to translate into paintings. I do this by taking a ridiculous amount of photos and making small sketches. I then create mood/inspo boards with other visual imagery such as postcards, paint / fabric swatches, magazine clippings all sorts of miscellaneous paraphernalia that I play around with and edit constantly. Currently I'm exploring ideas around travel, journey, pathways so I've got large scale maps pinned up in the studio."
Tell us a bit about family life? "Much like my paintings family life is busy and colourful with never a dull moment, when you share your house with small humans life is pretty crazy and chaotic on the daily. Hence why I don't make calm serene works of art!"
What's been the best thing to happen in your career so far? "Winning the Jumbled Art Competition of course! I'm sure I will look back on this time and see it as a pivotal moment in my career. I am just so excited to have this opportunity to share my work with such a large audience. I feel honoured to have been chosen and know that Jumbled is exactly the right place to launch my art career in Australia."
When are you at your happiest? "When the stars align and I get a few uninterrupted hours in the studio with sweet tunes and strong coffee to keep me energised or a very close second would be a shopping trip to Anthropologie for super cool homewares and a beautiful new dress!"
What is something not many people know about you? "I have a notebook fetish or perhaps it's more of an addiction! I have at least a dozen in current circulation and then a box full of empty ones ready to use. What can I say I'm a sucker for beautiful stationery!"
What exciting things do you have planned for 2019 - what can we look forward to next? "My close girlfriends and I live quite spread out around the world but will be meeting in Hawaii next month to celebrate a special birthday so you should expect a few paintings inspired by this trip. I'm also planning some large scale works which I am super excited about."
The Jumbled Quickie:
- The first thing you do when you have spare time: I haven't had a haircut in over a year - what spare time!
- Guilty pleasure: Dunking Monte Carlo biscuits in a cup of tea or Percy Pigs when I can get my hands on them!
- Dream Collaboration: GORMAN GORMAN GORMAN
- Hidden Talent: The ability to spot op shop gold within 30 seconds of entering any charity store
- One thing from your bucket list: A tour through North Africa
- Favourite Spotify Playlist: Indie Folk plus loads of Lana Del Ray
- Go-to meal to cook when you have friends over: I leave the cooking to my husband but I do love a well dressed table with vintage china and beautiful linens
- Craziest thing you've ever done: Moved to another country for love (it worked out quite well in the end).
- Last book you read: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng - A beautiful story about being an outsider and the powerful bond between mother and child
- Favourite family tradition: Friday night dance offs in our living room
- Current Netflix addiction: I don't ever get hold of the remote in our house
- Song that gets you on the dance floor: My Delirium by Ladyhawke
TO VIEW JACKIE'S ART, CLICK HERE!
Photography: The Serial Narrative