Meet the Artist & Artrepreneur Jana Nicole

We can't wait to welcome back talented award-winning collage artist and artrepreneur Jana Nicole to Talented Art Fair's 4th edition in March 2020!
Jana Nicole's works are often memories in mixed media, upcycling nostaligic materials and iconic images to fuse them with architectural salvage and abstract backdrops, often evoking a myriad of emotions from the spiritual to the comical, the classically familiar to the downright bizarre.
Now resident in the UK, she exhibits her works regularly in and around London and the South East as well as in her native Palm Springs. 
​Talented Art Fair Director Oliver Norris caught up with Jana recently, to get a better insight into her life as a successful and highly collectible artist.

1) Please can you tell us a bit about yourself and how long you have been creating artwork? 
Forever really. Sometimes I think my most prolific period was as a young child. I had no fear, no boundaries, no expectations.  I grew up in Ohio first and then the California desert. I have been lucky enough to travel the world and love living in the UK where I have raised my own family for the last twenty years. I feel very privileged to be able to do what I do.
 
2) We first met at the New Artist Fair 'Summer Exhibition' at The Truman Brewery back in 2018, how was that experience for you?
Very Positive. The foot fall was excellent and the atmosphere was very dynamic. I do particularly love the Truman Brewery. There is something culturally on point about it and the people it attracts.
 
3) Your collage artworks are very intricate and detailed, what is your creation process and how long does each piece usually take?
Obviously each piece is different. Some I have the image in my head from the start and some organically develop as I create them. My larger artworks can take a year to finish. 

4) When you create a series based on a new theme, how do you decide on the subject matter?
I tend to stumble across something that peaks my interest. The less I know about it, the more it interests me. As you can imagine, I spend a lot of my time learning. Right now, I am fascinated with Mycelium and Fungi. They are so complex, so important, so extraordinary. Their place in the ecosystem is essential and their influence is so much wider than anyone realises.
 
5) What has been your most successful body of work to date?
I have been very fortunate that each series I bring out seems to connect more and more. Last year my Animal Attraction series certainly exceeded expectation. I am very excited that I have two new series running concurrently now, my Botanicals and my Cirque Des Enfants. I am excited to see the reaction to them on their first outing at The Talented Art Fair.
 
6) From your own experience, what would you say are the positives and negatives of the art world?
The great positives are the feelings you get when somebody "just has to buy your work". It is very fulfilling. The negatives are the self-doubt and fear of failure. You have to become quite thick skinned to survive. You put yourself out there 100% to try to succeed and when things don't go your way for whatever reason it is painful.
 
7) Who are your biggest influencers from the past and present?
Most of my influences come from outside of the art world and most recently the natural world. I am fascinated with flora and fauna and dabble with mysticism and spiritualism. I have to acknowledge my husband too. He is a clever man, a massive believer in me but also a fair critic, which can be just as valuable.
 
8) We know you love to exhibit at exhibitions and art fairs, but apart from making sales, what do you enjoy most about exhibiting? 
I love the comradery and collaboration. Everyone wants to help each other and that feels very real and genuine. Working on your own most of the time you miss that. I also love to share in the excitement of a show, particularly with Artists showing new work. There is a real thrill to meeting new people and getting their reactions to your work.
 
9) Has anything unexpected or amazing happened to you since you began showing your artwork through art fairs?
I met an amazing woman who invited me to exhibit with the Salon Des Beaux Arts at the Carousel De Louvre in Paris. I had fallen in love with Paris for the first time as teenager while visiting with my mother and to be able to tell her I would be exhibiting at such an iconic location was a fabulous moment between us. She couldn't have been more proud.

10) What advice would you give to artists who are just starting out? 
Be patient and always remember that in the Art World there is never a right or wrong, there is simply opinion. Get out and meet as many people as possible. 
 
11) What have you got planned for Talented Art Fair 2020?
I am really excited to be showing these two new series at the show. I am excited at people's reactions and what conversations it will stimulate. If they connect, I will be happy to discount my work to ensure they end up on the right walls.   That means a lot to me.

Tickets to Talented Art Fair 6-6 March 2020 are available here -> http://bit.ly/2SkBdb1-Talented2020