Hey everyone, Bailee Golden back again with another artist interview! This month, we talked to Jessica Horne. Her work focuses on conspiracy theories and the unknown. You can see more of her work and read her artist statement at jessicahorneart.com
How do you juggle being a mom and working on large scale paintings?
To be honest, I'm not sure. I'm extremely blessed to have a husband that helps out and I'm thankful for scheduled nap times that my baby has! As a mom I'm forced to learn time management. I work when I can, whether that's 10 minutes or an hour a day.
What is the typical response to your work, considering it deals with controversial subject matter?
Most viewers have no clue what my work is about, but they are very curious about it. That is my favorite part about showing my art to people. I love to tell the stories of my painting and love to see the reactions when I tell them about lizard people or crazy conspiracy theories!
When did your fascination with UFOs, the unknown, and conspiracy theories begin?
When I was very young, I saw my first ghost (yep, ghosts are real). It was the most unreal experience of my life. I then knew at that moment there was so much more to this world then what we think. I became very open minded to almost anything. As I got older l loved watching documentaries about UFOs, aliens, ghosts, conspiracy theories, and much more. I'm a big believer in opening your mind to things that seem unreal and to question everything.
How do you go about choosing color palettes for your paintings? Do the colors have specific meanings?
I tend to use bright colors in my paintings because l like to show my work as something not concrete. My paintings are based on theories, so nothing has been "really" proven. Bright colors to me represent the imagery thoughts in our minds and the thought of another dimension in this word, one where the subjects in my paintings are real.
What advice would you give to those who are about to graduate in studio art?
Be yourself! It's totally okay to be weird. Some people might not understand your art, and that is fine. But you have to keep working and keep putting yourself out there. Someone will eventually understand your work and will love it and that's the best feeling in the world, because your work is not for everyone, it's just for the cool people out there. Make weird work.