Today we’d like to introduce you to Jazzy Jordan.
Jazzy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started taking my first art lessons when I was 3 years old and started selling my work at the Steven Jordan Gallery when I was only 5 years old. A customer came in and bought a piece I drew on a sticky note for 25 cents. He brought the piece back 10 years later and had it framed. Since then, I have sold over 350 pieces of art.
I was born and raised in Mount Pleasant, SC, and grew up surrounded by art in my dad’s gallery and in my home. I attended the Charleston County School of the Arts from 6-12th grade, and have since pursued my art on a full-time basis.
I excel at painting pet portraits, custom art, sign painting, & murals. I have entered and won many awards in several art competitions, including 8 awards for my pet portraits!
It’s so fun to look back at where you started, where you are now, and where you see yourself in the future!
Alright, 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?
It definitely has not been a smooth road! I always knew that I would end up doing art full time…but that is an extremely vague statement. There’s so much more involved than just some paint and canvases. You have to find out what you enjoy painting, what you’re good at, what you want to paint, and what people want to buy, all while trying to develop a style that sets you apart from other artists!
I worked in the food and beverage industry on and off for over 10 years before finally quitting in 2018 to pursue art full time. And let me just say, a starving artist is a very real concept. To go from the security of a paycheck to hoping someone will eventually call you to order something was very scary.
It is cool to look back and reflect on those years now. In 2017, before quitting my full-time job, I only did 13 pet portraits that year… double the year prior, but not nearly enough to support myself. But that number has continued to increase every year since. In 2020 I started offering hand-painted pet portrait ornaments in addition to my pet portrait paintings. Last year, I sold over 40 pet portraits and over 80 ornaments.
And I’ve also been very fortunate with name recognition linked to my father, Steven Jordan, but also with having a unique name that people remember. Every time I ask someone how they heard about me they always say their friend/family member/coworker, told them about me! That has led to many opportunities and hopefully, more to come!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Currently, there are two main areas I focus on in my business, Pet Portraits and Murals! I have been doing pet portraits since 2014. That started when one of my coworkers found out I was an artist and asked me if I could do a painting of their dog. I was hesitant because I had never painted a dog before, but I accepted their order and the painting turned out incredible! Little by little and one portrait at a time, people continued to ask me to paint their animals! Since then, people have fallen in love with my fun pet portraits with bright backgrounds. Fast forward to today I have painted over 200 pet portraits and 100 pet portrait ornaments! I have also won 9 awards for my pet portraits, including 1st place in a national online Pet Portrait Competition back in August of 2021!
My portraits are vibrant, hyper-realistic, and truly capture the essence of people’s beloved pets.
The things I always hear when people see the painting for the first time are:
“You captured her personality perfectly!”
“It’s like she’s really about to lick my face!”
“I feel like I’m actually looking into his eyes!”
The other side of my business has also been growing since I did my first mural in 2018 at Page’s Okra Grill in Mt. Pleasant. Since then, I have done over 50 installations all over the east coast, and as far west as Birmingham, Alabama. Though I have done many custom murals of my own design, what has really taken off is more of a sign painter role. Franchises, companies, and small businesses hire me to hand paint their logos, branding, etc. to “jazz” up their space. More often than not, I am working in these buildings during the very early phases of construction and it’s so much fun! In 2022 alone, I have been as far north as Grand Rapids, Michigan, and as far south as Orlando, Florida! I love to travel so this has become such an incredible opportunity.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
To me, success is when you’re working to live, and not living to work. Being raised by an artist, my dad worked for himself and never had a boss to answer to, didn’t have to work 9-5, and could work as little or as much as he wanted to. I knew I never wanted to live a life structured by corporate America. I love to travel, often times taking weeks (if not months) off work at a time. It’s only been in the last two years that I’ve been successful enough to do that and still support myself. Honestly, I couldn’t ask for anything more!
Pricing:
- Watercolor Pet Portraits: $375-$750
- Acrylic Pet Portraits: $450-$650
- Acrylic Pet Portrait Ornaments: $75
- Acrylic Pet Portrait Coasters: $75
- Acrylic Pet Portrait Magnets: $75
Contact Info:
- Email: jazzyjordanart@gmail.com
- Website: etsy.com/shop/JazzyJordanArt
- Instagram: instagram.com/jazzyjordanart/
- Facebook: facebook.com/jazzyjordanart/
