Meet Andrea Jacobson | Visual Artist & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrea Jacobson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrea, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I have always been intrigued by fear and risk-taking. Some people seem to have no fear what so ever. I, on the other hand, was an angsty child, generally scared of everything. I am still a cautious person by nature, as I think many people are, but nothing exciting every comes from being cautious. On the other side of fear is growth and greatness. To have great success you must take great risk. It is something I make a point to check on regularly. Am I playing it safe? What have I done to challenge myself? What have I done to make myself uncomfortable lately? Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable and intentionally pushing yourself to be uncomfortable is the fastest way to growth and success. My own personal risk-taking efforts has lead me to important contacts that have moved my career as an artist forward and opened unexpected opportunities. So go get out there and get uncomfortable.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Art is something that I came to later in life. I am self taught and forever growing and learning. There have been these moments in life that have grabbed a hold of my soul and told me to create. I am proudest of my work when I give to these moments of inspiration, when I allow room for the inspiration to flow. Sometimes I give to it immediately, other times it will take years to build the necessary skills. My latest piece, Battles to Come, is one of these. I was struck by inspiration when I first encountered Kehinde Wiley’s work probably around 2010. I knew that I needed to create this piece but I was not really a painter at the time. So I began painting, and painting, and reading, and learning, until I built the skills needed to make the piece.

I am most excited about the what is yet to come. I am working towards opening a gallery and studio space in San Antonio, TX and hope to have it open in the next year. Much to come! In the meantime, I am accepting commissions.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
A week in Denver, CO… I am an outdoorsy person so we would be road-tripping.
We would go to Boulder and check out the Pearl, take in the The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse, hunt for some SMile street art, and grab some food at Pizzeria Locale. Then we would head into the mountains and do some skiing in El Dora. At the end of the day, we would stop in Nederlands for well-earned burgers and beer. Then maybe cross the street for some crystal shopping. After a few days of thrashing the hills, we would go back to Denver for some city time. Hit up the Denver Art Museum, eat at Leven Deli Co. We would go check out Meow Wolf then go bar hopping in LODO.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Sarah Grinter – life long friend, artist, inspiration, and mentor. Furniture designer based in Richmond, VA Kirk Schaffer – pod-caster, dearest supporter, lover of the arts, and my ever-patient sounding board. Clarksville, TN IG:@accidental_enlightenment
Regina Mick – close friend, artist, encourager, and sweetest soul. Clarksville, TN. IG:@artistreginamick
Kehinde Wiley – an astounding contemporary portrait artist that moves my soul. IG: @kehindewiley
SMILE – Boulder, CO stencil artist whose work gives me great joy. IG: @smileboulder
Cristina Noriega-fellow artist and rebellous soul who keeps me motivated and inspired IG: @mommypaints

Website: https://www.worksbyalj.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worksbyalj/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/worksbyalj