Jessie Feitosa is an Adelaide based Artist, who’s contemporary still life paintings make me pine for hot summer days and cocktails in the sun.
Her love of art can be traced back to her childhood and teenage years, but it was whilst on maternity leave in 2019 that Jessie decided to take the leap and begin creating her beautiful artworks from her Adelaide studio.
As a lover of wine, coffee, travel, and art Jessie has a deep appreciation for everyday items and how translated into art, they can bring joy and liveliness to the home.
Her work is influenced by light, shadow and reflections that can be seen in her subject matter, a collection of bottles, glassware and cocktails all painted in vivid colour.
Today I chat to Jessie about her inspirations, process and future endeavours. Read on below for my interview with the artist.
Follow Jessie Feitosa on Instagram at @jessie_feitosa
Can you tell us a little about yourself, your background and what led you to becoming an artist?
As a kid I was always obsessed with drawing, every Christmas and birthday I would want another drawing book and more pencils. I had always done art in high school and TAFE. TAFE is where I discovered my love for painting. But what really led me to being an artist was a deep calling or desire to create art. I finally decided to make a start with my art when I had my daughter in 2019 while being on maternity leave. For the last 3 years I’ve given the time my art has needed to develop a style and thrive by painting every day in my little home studio.
How would you describe your work?
I would describe my work as contemporary still life. A mix of loose and painterly strokes with tight detailing brush work.
Can you give us some insight into your process?
I set up a still-life in a basic composition in good light that casts a nice shadow because I get most of my painting done at night I work from a photo of the still life set up. I also keep the still life set up in my studio to refer back to for certain details. I spend some time drawing up the still life and then I really just draw with the paint, blocking in the darker colours first and working my way to the final highlights. I use acrylic paint I like how it dries quick.
What does a day in the office/studio look like for you?
I get all of my motherly and house duties done in the morning. And about an hour before my daughter goes for her nap I will bring the painting that I’m working on out into the living room, sit there with my coffee and just ponder what I want to work on as soon as my little one is asleep. I don’t have time for creative block I get about 2 hours of painting time in the day and I use that time well. I will get another painting session in when she’s down for the night I usually get about 3 to 4 hours.
What inspires your artworks?
Well I’ve worked in the hospitality industry for 12 years and you can see the inspiration of that in my work. I actually get all the empty gin and vodka bottles from my work place and use them for my still life paintings. My main inspiration is food, wine, cocktails and beautiful table settings. I am also really inspired by the interaction of shadows and light in my paintings.
Each piece is inspired by just like with creating a beautiful dining setting there is balanced composition, a nice colour pallette that makes it inviting and visually pleasing for your guests. That’s what I’m inspired to bring in my paintings.
I hope my art makes you feel like you are reliving a moment with fond memories.
What are some resources you use for inspiration?
I like to check out (dulux colour forecast) trends for the year coming to try an incorporate them in my paintings. Pinterest is also a great resource for inspiration to work out different composition and elements I would like to use in my paintings.
2020 & 2021 have been such challenging years for everyone? Can you tell us about how Covid affected your practice and what changes you’ve made if any?
Covid has affected my husband and my travel plans we had planned our trip to Portugal, Spain and Morocco and that was going to bring a whole bunch of inspiration and a new body of work. But from day-to-day covid hasn’t affected my art practice much because I work as an artist from home. It has however cancelled or pushed back certain exhibitions and moving some to online. But all in all for my practice as an artist I feel this season has been good as more people are online and more confident to purchase art online rather than seeing it in person. Also people aren’t out and about or travelling, they are at home more than ever so they are investing in creating a beautiful environment at home with art which is fantastic.
Tell us about some of the people in the industry who inspire you and why?
Oh literally all the artists I follow on Instagram inspire me. I love the beautiful landscapes that Sarah McDonald does they are thick and lush, the beautiful still life paintings of Whitney Spicer I love her colour palette and composition, the abstract work of Antonia Perricone is truly amazing.
What would your dream project/collaboration be?
Easily my biggest dream would be to feature my art in the ever beautiful and well known home décor stores in Australia, Greenhouse Interiors (currently stocking my art), Fenton and Fenton and Jumbled. I absolutely love how they style and set up their stores capturing the most beautiful photos of art from there featured artists. They really know how to capture a story of living with gorgeous homeware and fantastic art and I want to be part of that. Another dream has been met by kicking off 2022 with a solo exhibition ‘An Aperol Summer’ at Michael Reid Murrurundi which sold out in less than an hour. Michael Reid is an incredible ideas man and I’m so grateful for the dream collaboration.
What are some of your favourite pastimes?
Oh to travel and explore different wine, food and cultures. My husband and I love a little airbnb getaway to a beautiful charming house in a scenic location .
Where is your favourite place to shop?
My favourite place to shop is anywhere online for art suppliers, clothes and home decor. At the moment I don’t enjoy traditional shopping with my two-year-old.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on another wonderful collaboration which is hush hush for now. This new collection will bring all the fruits, flowers and cocktails with pops of colour. New Art coming soon. Also planning a collaboration with beauitful abstract artist lena_b_art