Spotlight on: Jacqué Price

Jun 01, 2024 08:55PM ● By Style Media

Jacqué Price has been an artist all her life, but it wasn’t until her 30s that she had the confidence to pursue it full-time. Now she can’t imagine doing anything else.

A member of the first graduating class of Union Mine High School in El Dorado, Price finds inspiration in her surroundings and within herself. From the Sierra foothills to the Lake Tahoe basin to her current home in Santa Cruz, Price (jacquepriceart.com) aims to shine a light on the human condition. “I’m inspired by our needs, our challenges, our hopes, and our wonder—the parts of ourselves that want to be seen and felt.”

Her current bodies of work include curious wildlife, elegant abstracts, and tranquil modern landscapes. Her paintings are featured at Brass + Oak in Placerville, Piper J Gallery in Truckee, and online at artfulhome.com and wescover.com.

Truckee River Marsh

How did you get your start as an artist?

I come from an artistic family and generations of painters. I was encouraged to express myself artistically from a very young age. As a kid, I created nonstop—doodles, forts, fashion shows, potpourri from flowers in my neighborhood.

I graduated from college with a degree in studio fine arts with an emphasis in painting. I then spent years building a career in holistic health and hypnotherapy, with art as a hobby. But I was unfulfilled. I knew it was time to realize my dream of becoming a full-time artist so I could feel alive, inspired, and purposeful again.

In 2018, some friends and I started a project in Placerville called Scapegoat to get more art into the community. This led to my first art show in 10 years, where I sold several originals; it also gave me the confidence to quit my day job and sign up for an art fair at High Hill Ranch, where I worked for 12 hours a day, seven days a week for 13 weeks. Rain, sun, or snow, I was there painting, engaging with people, and selling paintings and prints.

The following year, I moved to North Lake Tahoe and broadened my audience. I then became co-owner of an art collective in Truckee. Fast-forward to today, I’m living and working as a full-time artist in Santa Cruz.

You primarily work in oils. What appeals to you about this medium?

I fell in love with oil paint and its thick, buttery texture in college. Oil has a slow dry time, which allows me to work alla prima (wet on wet) for a few days. Texture is everything to me, so being able to re-work the paint while still maintaining a sophisticated surface is incredibly important.

Sweet Love

How do you choose your subjects?

They come to me spontaneously and seem to move in rhythm with my internal process. When I needed more stability and security, I had the urge to paint big bison and mountain landscapes. When I needed freedom, I was passionate about painting birds in flight. When I needed peace, I was drawn to painting meandering rivers. When I felt lost, I could only paint deserts and storms. Currently, I’m embracing my silly side and inviting more joy in my life, and I happen to be painting quirky birds and abstract landscapes in arbitrary colors.

Describe your artistic process.

It starts in my journal. Writing helps bring my emotions to the surface. Then I can create from an honest place.

I never do rough drafts or miniature mockups. I dive right in. I like the risk, the intensity of the demand on my presence with each piece. I like to work out any issues that come up in real time. But I usually have a subject in mind. I start with a tiny, long-handled brush and compose an initial composition of the size and position of my subject. Then I look for references and photos to craft the details of the animal or ridgeline. From there, I rely on memory to fill in colors and textures. I don’t think much while I paint. I have a sense for what needs to be done and am trusting those instincts more and more. When a painting is finished, I feel refreshed and complete. There is nothing more to add or take away; the work has said what I needed it to say.

Clark

Pete

Your “quirky birds” have such personality. How do you bring out the unique personalities of each character?

Their personalities are a combination of emotions, often conflicting ones. That a posture can read as both confident and troubled, or odd and elegant, or shy and bold is very true to our nature as humans. We are a paradox. I often feel a range of emotions at once, and painting a bird who feels the same way is so refreshing.

Spring Skiing

What is the best compliment you could get about your art?

That it did its job, and someone felt belonging in this human experience because of the joy or peace it brought up in them. Maybe then, one more person would live with more passion and purpose because they accepted their humanness and decided to make this life count.