Today we’d like to introduce you to Janice Willis.
Hi Janice, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve always been creative in some sense of the word. I grew up with a very hard-working, single mom. My dad died unexpectedly in a car accident before I was 2, and I grew up with older siblings that were already out of the house by the time it was 5. and I grew up in the late 80s, early 90s – I was one of the latchkey kids and I would love to come home after school and Spend my afternoons doodling endlessly or trying to remember the crochet stitches my mom taught me while watching music videos on MTV and VHS. (When those were a thing)
I went to school for occupational therapy because I really have a heart for helping people but I really felt trapped by the parameters of the medical field. Then, we relocated our family to the Austin area from Dallas in 2015. After dealing with reoccurring anxiety during and after the pandemic, I decided to leave the medical field permanently and just pursue artistic endeavors. Our move to Austin provided me with a plethora of hiking trails full of new nature and inspirations. I found myself invigorated by the downtown culture and the surrounding hill country aesthetic- from all of the murals downtown, paddle boarding ladybird Lake, exploring the wildflower center or botanical garden to hiking a rocky hilltop trail. I have a strong faith and consider God the ultimate artist. Suddenly the city/area around us – full of nature trails, flowers, hills, springs -all the beauty, the people here became my inspiration. I’ve painted and created art off/ on over the last 20 years, but dived back into abstract painting as a way to deal with my fears and anxiety when I couldn’t find the words to express it. Especially when my four kids depended upon me as “Mom” to encourage them.
I create emotive and textural abstract paintings as well as abstracted floral paintings inspired by the Texas Hill country and my love of travel to various coastal areas
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Well, while I’m very creative, I struggle as a “one woman show” to figure out all the other parts of being a creative as it pertains to running a business. So I’m still figuring out the ins and outs about taxes growing your audience networking more into the community.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I create paintings on canvas and fine art paper of texture elements and Mark making using acrylic paint and oil pastels. I create mostly abstract and abstracted florals. I am an intuitive painter so while I do try to stay within a certain style and color palette, I really don’t know what I’m going to create until I start. I’m proud that while it has a lot of ups and downs and can really be hard to get your name out there and grow the business when there are negative things going on politically or with the economy I still am wanting to spread joy and a breath of fresh air through my paintings
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Don’t give up, especially when the going gets gets tough and you don’t have to be the right fit for everybody just stay authentic be yourself share your part of what it is you want to share with the world and the people you’re supposed to find will find you
Contact Info:
- Website: https://janicewillisart.com/
- Instagram: janicelwillis.art
Image Credits
https://www.amandabarker.us/?
Amanda Barker
