DAAG: INTERVIEWS: JENNIFER GARANT

I first met Jennifer over the internet. I was browsing Robert Genn's website and saw her letter posted there. Having found what she wrote interesting, I e-mailed her and soon thereafter a friendship began. I loved e-mailing her because we could share a light joke while at the same time our conversations could be profound and serious. One day she sent me some of her artwork as e-mail attachments. The characters depicted in her paintings to me were bizarre, hilarious, and extremely interesting all at the same time. Who would buy a painting of a fat cook, I thought? You see, the paintings Jennifer sent me were of fat cooks. There is something of a comical twist to the way Jennifer depicts these culinary curios; they wear running shoes, ride bicycles while holding a cabaret with one hand, sit on toilets while sipping wine, and so on. It was the shapes, form, color and general composition that attracted me; and these paintings made a statement. My conclusion was obvious: Jennifer Garant is a fine artist if there ever was such a "thing"!

Her style and subject matter have been maliciously criticized by other artists, some going so far as to claim that she is not a "real" fine artist simply because of the subject matter and the venue used to market and sell her artwork. The truth is that Jennifer's artwork is sold in over 50 countries on the planet. She has contracts with many companies (Evergreen, Tam Sam, Peking, York Wall Paper, Counter Art) who reproduce her art and sell prints or posters and a multitude of licensed products on which appears her artwork. And she does all this on her own, without the intermediary of a management firm.

But licensed products and posters is not her only venue. Jennifer's originals are represented in such prestigious art galleries as Art Mode Gallery (Calgary & Ottawa), Jenkins Showler Gallery (Vancouver), The Lloyd Gallery (Penticton, British Columbia), and galleries across the USA, Australia and Hong Kong. This puts great demands on her and she is constantly on the go, sitting or standing in front of her easel.

I was born in Prince Albert Saskatchewan, on Halloween. No kidding!!!!! As a matter of fact the doctor who delivered me was at a Halloween party and delivered me in his "Toreador" outfit. His son ended up marrying my sister so I hear this story on a regular basis. As a matter of fact dear old Dr. Chipperfield lives now in Kelowna about an hour away. Now, as for the ridiculing that I have received from all my siblings through the year you can only imagine!

I am one of 8 (number 7). My parents had a wild sense of humor and were able for quite a few years to make each other--and their children--laugh. My Dad was mayor of Prince Albert. He was a very special man. He died at 54 from heart attack and my Mom at 62 from heart, as well.

My Dad was a dreamer and a lover of people, he was good friends with John Diefenbaker [one of the Canadian Prime Ministers] They spent many a night in our basement shooting pool and finishing a bottle of scotch and, of course, having the world's greatest arguments.

My Dad always talked to me as if I were an adult, and taught me that a person can be anything that she wanted to be. He taught me that the true communicators in this world are the ones who can talk and relate to all situations and people. Additionally, a good lesson he taught me was that no one is better than anyone else and that I should never feel less than anyone.

My parents had a great appreciation for the arts. My Mom could definitely be classified as an artist--everything that she touched was transformed to beauty. On top of raising 8 children and maintaining a full time job, she would hook a 20x20 rug of her own design while having coffee in the morning. She sewed professionally and sometimes purchased art, too, which was a rare thing to do in the town of Prince Albert.

Yes! But some people upon seeing my work have challenged me on this. However...I believe I am a Fine Artist though a lot of my prints appear to graphic-like for the critics. I know my connection with my art and, yes, some pieces may be too something or other. Regardless, there is always something of me in the piece somewhere.

I had two brief stints in Art school; one at the College of Marin and one at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Calgary. I am not sure why I could not stand Art school but I found it draining in the sense that the students were all trying to be so unique and different that it was very distracting and I found the instructors too heavy on theory and not enough technique. They also frowned upon the students who were going to go on to graphic arts the following year, calling them "sell outs", though I was not planning on going into graphic arts. This comment irked me because what I saw in my instructors was frustrated, jaded artists who themselves took the safe road of painting.

But that was back when. Today I could go back to art school and have a much better attitude and possibly absorb what I need. I am basically self taught for I received no training in any medium. This year is the first time that I have painted in Acrylics and am falling short all over the place with my technique.

When I was 24 my first husband left me. I had two small boys and did not even consider the possibility of assistance from the govt. So, I began painting like crazy and getting little restaurants to show my work and sell-- and sell they did!

I worked in an ice-cream parlor from 5-7 a.m making waffle cones for the day. Then I opened up my own little gallery and sold my work and the work of a couple of other artists. The business was not as lucrative as I had hoped it would be and to make ends meet I had to work in a framingshop.

One day I was asked to do a mural on a building and, although I had never done one before and was quite nervous about doing it, I nevertheless accepted it because I needed the money. The mural turned out good but not great. This one mural led to another and I ended up doing a ton of murals all in the night time hours. I was working several jobs and now the murals, too! As you can imagine, working around the clock and having two small children, I suddenly came unglued! It was just too much for one woman alone. This was the worst point in my life.

Having had problems with my family and husband, I decided to move to Vancouver where I found a small basement suite. Here I began painting a lot and went to a million galleries and restaurants, anywhere that would show my work since I was desperate for cash. But art wasn't really paying the bills. I had to take another job.

I found employment in a lath mill pulling cedar off the chain and stacking it. Well, it sure got my creative juices flowing and it was a good experience since the money paid the bills and afforded me enough relief to figure out how to make a living with my art.

Determined to earn a living with my art, I gathered together some old newspaper articles about me doing murals and publicized these. Lo and behold, a call for a mural came in. It was the Vancouver General Hospital who invited me to paint something on the side of one of its buildings. I hadn't even seen the wallits size, surface. etc.and said "yes" immediately. It turned out that the wall was truly huge and came to be recognized as the largest mural in North America painted by one person!

There were 21 murals each 14 feet high and 45 feet long! It took me 6 months to paint them all. The top 7 drawings depicted scenes to do with the hospital's heritage; the middle 7 were of various hospital scenes; and the bottom 7 were of city scenes. It was a lot of hard work but it paid off because this generated a ton of work for me across Canada.

Well, not really. Old habits die hard. I was tempted once more at working a daytime job, and that is when I worked at a maximum security prison for women teaching art. But that's another chapter of my life altogether.

It was while working at the prison that I had a chance meeting with Robert Genn. After a conversation where he talked to me about a book he was writing, I said I would like to read it. Well, he sent me his manuscript even before it was published and I thought it was the best information that I had ever received. His book, "The Painters Keys", really helped me a lot and, well, here I am, and I am still here!

I must say that to me the Arts are magical from viewing others work to creating my own. I can not imagine my life without an instrument to paint with or surface to mark. I rarely view my past paintings with too much respect. I am more interested in what the next one will be and where it will take me! Other artists ask me for advice and I always ask them, "Do you have your best work hanging on your wall?" The usual response is, "yes," to which I say, "Well, in that case get rid of it!"

I love viewing the art produced by elementary and high school students because they have unabashed freedom and are more in tune with themselves, as children will be. Children who paint have not had the influence of pressure, and they don't paint in any particular learned style. They paint freely and this freedom inspires the creative soul.

Anyone who knows me knows that I work almost everyday. I get up at 4:30 a.m and paint on and off until 5 p.m.. I hear some people say to me, "Wow! You have such a good work ethic." But I must snicker at such remarks because my habit is the furthest thing from "work".

I love being by myself painting because it never feels like I'm alone. I mean, I'm with my painting and my energy! I oftentimes find it difficult to be around too much energy. As a matter of fact I have narcolepsy when I am in a movie theater, concert or where there is a crowd confined to a limited space. I start snoozing in no time! But this is simply a defense mechanism, I think. In my studio my energy is focused, centralized, directed, but in a large space with lots of people it is diffused. It is too much of a shock to have my energy bouncing around and being absorbed by other people while I absorb other people's energy.

I feel that the reason why people buy a certain artist's work has everything to do with energy; it may not be the image they are buying, but the energy that vibrates from the whole painting itself, which is why I have never met anyone who purchased a painting of mine who did not somehow have an especial something, a sort of connection linking us together.

I never like to tell people at shows about the meaning of a painting for I always am blown away by their interpretations. It's much more fun and educational to me to let someone "outside the box" be the interpreter!

Let's start with Salvador Dali. He was a visionary, very original, and his work visually disturbs me. But I think that is a good thing. Dali was so bizarre and with good reason! His parents were right off the wall! But mostly he was a contained unit: a bit crazy, a bit brilliant, totally self absorbed, and gutsy. I like that.

Modigliany's work to me is sensuous and original and I can tell that he had a very hard time communicating just from the throats on his figurative work. When I see his work I always feel as though I know him and understand his pain.

Picasso. I love his art. A lot of my feminist friends get a tad upset when I express this love I have for Picasso for they say he was so cruel in depicting the female figure and that he did not like women. Ahh...girls! Get over it! He was brilliant!

Tamara Lemptuka: Original, strong and as off the wall as they come! Matisse: Love his freedom and use of color, shape, positive and negative space. Bayrrl Cook: an English artist who is delightful. Georgia O'Keefe: Wow! Emily Carr: Another wow!

Every one has a different stick with which they measure success. For me I can paint guilt free. I am no longer having to justify my passion for I am able to provide a reasonable income. There are no more "realities" knocking on my door accusing me that earning a living through art is a pipe dream or that I am lazy and just do not want to get a "real job". What the losers tell me today is that they've always known that I would be successful. This always cracks me up!

But to get to the heart of your question: I think the reason that success has visited me is because I love painting! I have never ever had that dreaded "block" I hear some talk about. I wake up at 1, 2, 3 or 4 a.m. and start painting. In fact, it is terribly difficult for me to pull myself away from the easel! So much so that the only way I can do this is to reason with myself that the painting I started the day before will still be there later and that I should go back to sleep! It is the excitement that I feel! That is major success.

The foremost thing is to believe in yourself! Always call yourself an artist, and mean it! There is a certain magic in believing yourself to be an artist, but it also entails the responsibility of living up to the reputation.

Never believe someone is going to discover you and your art and make you famous. This is a myth! Only you and you alone can make things happen. Success doesn't come knocking at your door. You have to go get it! Don't be afraid of soliciting galleries. Oh sure you'll be turned down by most. But keep knocking. Don't lose courage. Keep painting. Keep knocking on doors. Enter festivals and other public exhibits in your area. There are millions of galleries out there. Knock! If you want to be known it'll happen. But you have to work hard at it.

Be curious and open yourself to other Artists; artists can teach each other much. Ask a lot of questions: find out what they are doing, how they are promoting, where they are showing. Others' experiences can sometimes show us a straighter path to our destination.

Never be jealous of others who are doing well. If you become jealous you will end up in what I call the "bitter artists pool". Once you enter the pool it is hard to get out. Most artists who have fallen into the trap remain there for the rest of their lives. Some even drown! Instead, when you hear of an artist doing well, be happy and feel grateful. Reinforce the thought that, thank God, here's an artist doing well; thank God that people are buying art! Have a positive outlook toward fellow artists, no matter how good or bad you think their work is.

Another very important point: It is absolutely acceptable that sometimes a painting turns out awfully horrible and not worth your time. Put these paintings away--or throw them out! Some puzzles (or paintings) can never be solved. Accept this.

Follow your intuition when it comes to your career. Others may claim they know what is best for you but ultimately you know in your heart of hearts what you want to do and how to proceed. Also, when it is your decision and fails, you can bounce back easier without having to hear, "I told you so!".

Spend time knocking on Gallery doors. Walk in and show them your work.. This is perhaps the hardest but most necessary part of marketing your art. It might also be the most painful because people may be rude and tell you your work isn't worthy. They may even go as far as to heap personal insult by saying you are not an artist! Don't be discouraged! These disheartening experiences and comments are what I call "training for the art Olympics". Even if you loose you are still in training!

One of the most comforting thoughts to me is that if one of the great painters of history were to suddenly come alive and walk into a Gallery showing his paintings, he would most probably be turned away by a number of them, just like you will be turned away. It is the law of averages. If you find yourself feeling beat up with these experiences, know that you are not alone. We all go through this experience.

If you absolutely must take a day-time job to make ends meet, find one that you dislike. I always took jobs that I hated because if the job offered good money and incentives, the risk of forfeiting my passion for art was always present. Additionally, if you dislike your job you will find yourself fervently searching for ways to be more successful with your art. Just realize that "making it" is a process.