If you have blogged for a while or even just started looking into design and art blogs, I’m sure you have seen the work of Jen Ramos. I remember one of my 1st posts that displayed her prints and that was the day I started following Jen’s blog. Since then I have enjoyed her style and her attitude towards life, fashion, design and God. Do you know what I like about Jen? She is not afraid to say it like it is. I enjoy people with that attribute. It’s refreshing in this sometimes worldly world.
Now as Creative Stream is about creativity, it would not be a good enough blog if it did not display to you those who I believe to be truly creative. Cocoa & Hearts began its flourishing business when Jen started to showcase her love for art and colours. It truly has taken the world by storm with many paintings sold out within the week of being released. That just goes to show how fabulous her style and creative hand is.
Jen has written about how people relate to her art, some negatively and some positively. I guess that is art! People like it or they don’t and I feel that artists who can still work their heart into their art knowing the various tastes of consumers out there and not being hindered is indeed an artist!
Frankly, I love her work. I admire the simplicity of the linear paintings and how it catches your eyes. I love the emotion seen in the strokes she uses and of course adore the colours she so cleverly combines. Even Though this post is about Cocoa & Hearts I recommend you take a look at Jen’s prints. They are gorgeous as well. I have had my eye on them for years now … click here for her shop to see prints and more fabulous creations.
Let’s find out a little more about Jen as she answers some questions Creative Stream sent her about Cocoa & Hearts.
1- Can you remember the 1st time you picked up a paint brush to canvas? When was it and what did you paint, how did you feel?
When I was about 7 yrs old, but it wasn’t onto a canvas necessarily – it was on a piece of paper. I painted a scenery – like with an ocean & a sun, felt great! I’ve always enjoyed drawing & painting, in fact it’s what I wanted to be when I grew up, an artist.
2- I know you are a graphic designer. You paint now as well. Does the one creativity work with the other? Do you find yourself often being motivated by one to progress in the other? Oddly enough, I don’t really mix the two at all. My inspiration when I paint is totally separate then when I’m creating graphics.
3- How did Cocoa and Hearts begin? When and why did you decide to make it into something? It’s a long story & a personal one. Perhaps I will tell it on my blog one day, but for now it is something that I had always wanted to do since I was a little girl and something im truly passionate about. I decided to make it into something in May of 2011 and im so glad I did.
4- Where did you live before you moved to New York and has your environment contributed to your painting style? I lived in las vegas for a few years, but my environment didn’t contribute to my painting style. I lived in a very suburban area, very unoriginal with very little culture. So, perhaps my desire for something colorful and different from what I was noticing around me is what I needed at the time. NYC is definitely a motivator, because everyone here is so creative and that alone is instrumental to my painting style.
5- When painting or choosing to start a painting, what factors do you consider to create what you create. (do you think about each painting or do you let your hand do the talking?) :) I usually pray prior to beginning a piece. I ask God to guide my hands to create something people will love. Normally, that is all I do..I don’t think too much about what I want it to look like. I just trust that my hands will know which direction to move at that point.
6- In your opinion, what is the best advise you can give someone wanting to ‘go further’ in their art? Well, I would say building a large following helped me. So, building an audience to sell your work to, can help. When I was blogging for the first 3 yrs – I had no idea that I would be introducing my readers to my artwork. I always thought of my art as being just in my home…odd. But I’m glad I brought it to my readers, as they’ve been quite welcoming & supportive.
7- What do you love most about what you do (blog, design and painting) I love that I can see my work and say – I did that. Whether it’s in a magazine or being written about on design blogs, or just pinned on Pinterest, it’s cool to see other people getting into it. Thank God that I can say I love 99% of what I do.
8- And lastly – name your paintings by one word? Colorful
Jen- thank you for sharing with me and Creative Stream readers. You and your work are inspiring and beautiful.
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS ARE FROM JEN’S WEBSITES.
Please refer to Made By Girl and Cocoa & Hearts for prices and artwork.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Another idea and a super one at that, was creative workshops held at
