We had the good fortune of connecting with Jen Jovan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jen, would love to get a better understanding of the role tech plays in your industry?
This is an endlessly fascinating topic in the world of art as our collectors begin to become younger and more tech savvy, wanting to find and purchase art online AND have digital content to accompany it. Tech is now the single largest factor in my art business! Juggling multiple selling platforms, website, social media, video content and narrative content require discipline, constant learning and trend-watching. The amount of time spent on this aspect nearly exceeds the time spent actually creating the art! Though I’d love to join the bandwagon of artists who find this frustrating, I cannot – the opportunities to differentiate, to tell my story and to connect regularly with art collectors and enthusiasts are bountiful! And it pays off, too. I sell more art to more people, which allows me to keep prices low so that, well, I can sell more art to more people! A win!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I fell into art like Alice down the rabbit hole…as an adult, after a lifetime of number-crunching. Self-taught, I haven’t learned what not to do, so I just fearlessly do everything. There is an advantage to feeling like a kid in the sandbox when I head into the studio – each day feels fresh and the ideas are never-ending. It is challenging to enter this field later in life, and yet a background as a corporate lender helped speed things along for me without many of the usual new business hiccups. That and a willingness to do everything, try anything and to be vulnerable about the failures along the way. Life is pretty serious out there. I think part of my job as an artist is to provide a bit of respite from all that is by creating what could be….

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Living in Portland, I would ask them first “wine and wandering” or “witches and weed”? Ha ha! We have everything here…incredible farm to table food, art, gorgeous mountains and hikes, tarot card readers and legal weed. We would urban hike through the unique neighborhoods of Portland, and then head out for waterfalls and the wild coast of Oregon.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A shoutout to the cyber art community – a band of fiercely introverted creatives who somehow manage to peek their heads out long enough to support, encourage and uplift others!

Website: www.jenjovan.com
Instagram: instagram.com/jenjovanwalls
Twitter: twitter.com/jenjovanwalls
Facebook: facebook.com/jenjovanwalls