We’re so pumped about our conversation with Jay Maggio. Jay is an artist and is also a content partner. Content partners help Voyage in so many ways from spreading the word about the work that we do, sponsoring our mission and collaborating with us on content like this. Check out our conversation with Jay below.
Hi Jay, thank you so much for sitting down with us again. For folks who might have missed our initial interview, can you start by briefly introducing yourself?
I am a full time artist that specializes in paintings of trees. Many of my paintings are like a portrait of a tree. I paint realistically from photos of trees that I use as a study. I then create an fantastical like imaginary landscape around the tree. I have two styles that are both impressionist-like. My more traditional style is similar to pointillism in that all of the painting except the sky is comprised of hundreds or thousands of small dots creating the tree and the landscape. My other style is comprised of swirls or geometric small lines that cover the entire painting. I coined this style “DeGraphi” an acronym for “detail graphics”. I moved to Dallas from New Orleans just over 30 years ago. I am represented by galleries in Dallas, New Orleans, and Provincetown.
When or why did you decide you wanted to pursue a career as an artist?
Honestly it was a career of last resort. I could draw very well as early as early as five years old but I grew up in a small rural town in Louisiana where the attitude when I was a child in the 1960’s and 1970’s was that it’s great that you are talented young man but you had better get a real job. At some point in my life that mind set prevailed and I pursued other career options. When I lost my job here in Dallas after five years that is when I considered pursuing a career as an artist. It didn’t happen right away but after another five years I landed a successful art show here in Dallas and as they say the rest was history.
What were the initial difficulties or obstacles you had in your initial pursuit to pursue your career?
Not knowing the proper protocol to approach galleries and not having a resume related to art I encountered a lot of rejection initially. I walked into one gallery with a painting in my hand and the gallerist wouldn’t even look at it, she just ushered me out of the door. The young ladies in one gallery asked how much I would expect to get for a painting I showed them and really laughed in my face. That painting later sold for three times the price I had quoted them. I emphasize with many artist in that it is very difficult to pursue gallery representation, even when you have already had success. There are many times more artists than there are galleries to represent them and there’s far more art available than collectors willing to purchase art. I think most artists face these challenges.
What are some of the challenges that you have had to overcome as an artist?
Financial security as a full time artist is always a challenge. If you don’t have other sources of income like myself one must really lean how to budget and manage their finances. One of the greatest other challenges is trying to keep your work fresh. Evolving and progressing with your style can be a challenge but once you find a safe path and try to keep true to the style of work that you are recognized it can be rewarding.
Describe your art and how it has evolved over the years?
A lone oak in a brightly colored field with a lavender blue sky with a pointillist style of application best describes my early body of work. I later added tuscan like fields with Italian Cypress and/or Italian Pine trees. Early on I also began to add various types of trees including flowering trees. After a few years I added a second style as I mentioned earlier, the DeGraphi series. This was a much more impressionist style. I also began to experiment with color by creating monotone or unrealistic color themes. I continue to expand with the DeGraphi series and the experimenting with color.
It was so great to reconnect. One last question – how can our readers connect with you, learn more or support you?
To learn more about my art and where it can be viewed or purchased please go to my website: jaymaggio.com
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jaymaggio.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Paintings-by-artist-JAY-MAGGIO-274454864653
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaymaggio/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jetjay
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/jetjay/_saved/
