Meet the Artist: Jenni Davidson

Jenni is a self-taught modern watercolor and calligraphy artist who also likes to dabble in gouache, acrylics, bookmaking, and digital art. She is always thrilled to collaborate with, support, teach, and encourage other artists, and remind everyone that it's never too late to find your place in the art world.

We agree that Art is for Everyone and it is one of the KINGART's mantras. What ignited your passion for the arts?

When I was growing up, my mom was a professional artist specializing in classical calligraphy and my dad - a microbiologist by profession - loved pottery and had a kiln in our basement. I think both by nature and nurture I was always a creative/crafty person, but it wasn't until I was in my early 30's and I started watching painting and lettering videos on Instagram that I realized that I just wanted to be doing the visual arts instead of watching it. So I started trying - and with lots (and lots) of practice, and through making amazing connections with other artists online, I realized that being an artist felt like my "thing" too.

It is interesting that your art interests span such a wide range of areas. Can you tell us about a project where you combined some of these skills and perhaps share a few tips to help others think about incorporating a mixed media approach into their projects?

The greatest joy I get from art is through the actual processes of learning and creating (regardless of outcome), which I think is why I am always interested in trying new artistic media and methods. I recently did some lettering and painting on a huge window for my kids' dance studio - combining calligraphy with drawing and designing but *backwards*. It was a huge challenge, but so much fun. I still do a lot of watching YouTube videos etc. to learn from others, especially when trying out new things like window painting.

Combining techniques/media is just one more aspect of exercising creativity that I enjoy, and sometimes it works out beautifully (Many times it doesn't produce much worth sharing, but "the journey" is still worth it!). I get a lot of inspiration for mixed media approaches from thinking about how I can take various elements of art that I love and combine them in different and interesting ways. For other artists, I highly encourage finding multiple techniques or media you love (whether your own or from inspiration) and experimenting with combinations. You never know what might turn out to be your new favorite!