Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Rice.
Jamie is a self-taught artist from Dallas, TX, working professionally for the last 7 years. Though she was engrossed in creative endeavors during most of her life, Jamie never thought it was practical to pursue Fine Art as a career.
While completing her Bachelors in Accounting and prepping for Law School Admissions, she became distressed and repelled by the path she was on. She decided to meditate over her anxieties. To her surprise, she was overcome with a clear, repetitive message: “PAINT”. “It made no sense! I had never been a painter” Compelled to heed the orders from above, she built a huge 4’x6’ canvas which sat blank, taunting her while she studied. She would meditate and the ideas would come. An entire year later she completed her first painting, The Big Picture, a multidimensional piece covering iconic events from world history that have shaped our lives today, with the face of god woven subtly among the omnipotent scene, framed by hands in the viewing gesture.
From this concept her style was born; she learned to paint and listen to her muses. She found her process to be highly conducive to commission work where her patrons can express their stories and passions through her distinctive style to achieve deeply personal works of art. In 2012, Jamie had discovered the art festival circuit and found it to be the most suitable avenue to show her work. She enjoys the intimate connections made in person in high energy, hands-on, festival setting.
In her first year, she was accepted in Cottonwood Arts Festival, Deep Ellum Arts festival and Coconut Grove Arts Festival along with several wonderful shows around the country. Jamie shows her work year-round at Pop 54 Art Gallery at Midtown. She has since developed her style and made the decision to embrace the unknown, in pursuit of living an enriched, creative life, perhaps as an artist, but most importantly, not as a lawyer.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nobody has a smooth road. The art that I do is the nice part. The challenges in that process are pleasant. The business challenges are pretty standard. My major struggles happen on my travels. We have to drive to every festival, essentially hauling everything I own, of any value, along with us. Some trips are as far away as three-day drives, each resembling Homer’s Odyssey in some way. We set up outside most weekends and have dealt with crazy weather conditions, terrible sales and runaway expense as well as injuries, odd and occasionally dangerous people and all sorts of detours that require quick adjustments and versatility.
One story comes to mind that had the whole gamut. I did an outdoor festival in Arizona in 100-degree weather, trying to avoid heat stroke all weekend, as I sold nearly nothing to overheated, cranky patrons. On our drive home, we were thwarted by a snowstorm that stranded us in a creepy dessert hotel for a few days. We ran out of food and had to sustain ourselves on dusty vending machine snacks that couldn’t have been replaced more recently than the 1970s. When we finally made our way back to Dallas, we hit a torrential rainstorm with tornado threats as we drove through a dark construction zoned highway, full of deep puddles.
Excessive twists and turns were ferociously trying to usurp my trailer. I was on edge of hours, genuinely certain I was going to die. My relief, as we finally made it home, quickly diminished. A typical last step in a trip was manually pushing the trailer into a small garage. Though difficult, we had it down pretty well. But this time, it became stuck in a puddle.
Tired, starving, and frazzled we stood defeated as the rain beat down on us. We mustered up the strength and brain power to solve the problem, fueled by the glorious notion that once we finished we could go inside and eat some hot food. Excited and energized I ran inside and switched on the lights, only to find the power was out, food was ruined, no stove or microwave. I had a nice shot of whiskey for dinner at 5 am and called it a day wondering what would be so bad about being an accountant.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Jamie Rice Art – what should we know?
I do bold, colorful paintings with layers of meaning that offer deeper stories the more you look into them. On first glance, a child will recognize, “Giraffe!” or “Elephant!” but upon closer perusal, his parents will see the background story that could cover any number of topics, from philosophy, politics, collective consciousness, death or metaphysical ideas.
I am amazed and delighted when people come in and recognize some of my more esoteric hidden stories, or when they relate on the deepest level when I’ve given them no explanation. I have a few pieces that would never be immediately perceived to be about death because they are cheerful and brightly colored. However, I can’t count how many people come in who have lost loved ones and recognize immediately that these pieces are speaking to this topic. It’s a true miracle every time it occurs and reiterates that this stuff is divinely inspired no matter how often I doubt my purpose.
In the words of a recent patron, “I like it because it isn’t trite” I am most proud of that. I work hard on myself to make sure I’m delivering a genuine exploration of topics that I care about, presented in the most aesthetically pleasing way I can achieve.
I specialize in super-personalized custom commissions that allow the patron to express as much of themselves as they wish. It’s a wonderful process to co-create something so meaningful to another person and help them tell their story through my artwork. Some people tune in to my process very well. So far, it has been 100% satisfaction guaranteed because I don’t move forward without approval. Some artists hate commissions because they don’t like the interference. I’m honored by the process and enjoy the feedback.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I genuinely care about people and want to see everyone succeed, find their purpose and excel. I know that’s what we are supposed to do while we are here. I enjoy connecting with people and learning about their experiences and contributing, however briefly, to their journey. I only ever succeed when I open my heart and give to others. When I occasionally forget that crucial ingredient and focus too heavily on the business side of things, I notice a drastic change in the way things take place.
Pricing:
- Paper Prints $10-$40
- Metal Prints $395 and up, based on size
- Original paintings start at $1000 and go up based on size and complexity.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jamiericeart.com
- Phone: 214-810-2674
- Email: jamiericeart@gmail.com
- Instagram: @jamiericeart
- Facebook: facebook.com/jamiericeart
- Twitter: jamiericeart
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
