Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Becker.
Hi Jessica, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Hey! My name is Jessica Becker. I knew at the age of five that I wanted to be an artist and taught myself to paint after receiving minimal art classes in school. The one time that I did have art in school was a half semester in high school with teacher Ms. Nieuwkirk. The class only taught the basics of drawing, painting, and ceramics, but she was the only teacher I ever had that made me feel like I had a gift and that I would go on to do great things in art. It was her encouragement that made me start taking it serious in 2003. I would, and still do, practice daily, and eventually, it led to me painting large-scale murals on different surfaces. My favorite artist Shepard Fairey inspired me to take my artwork to the streets and I would spend 8 years painting murals around Jacksonville, FL, and had the opportunity to have 3 murals in Miami, FL in the Wynwood area. One of my greatest achievements was painting the restaurant TacoLu Baja Mexicana Restaurant in Jacksonville Beach, FL. It was during the time when I first started painting murals, and the owners Debra and Don Nicol asked me to paint the side of their 3-story building, which led to me painting their Milagro Room, Casa Noble Room, Men & Women’s restroom, welcome sign and 3 window murals in front of restaurant. It was their faith in me, when I had not much experience, that gave me the confidence and support that has made me the artist that I am today and I’m forever grateful to them.
I enjoyed doing large-scale murals, but my passion was working with canvas and incorporating mixed media where I add materials to portraits. I have a degree in Cosmetology and use that skill when working with portraits to get the hair to match the portraits perfectly on the canvas and the rest of my process is learned through trial and error which I use different elements to make the pieces look realistic. As my creative process grows, I have begun changing my subject matter at times but always including materials to make it more unique than the last and to give the impression of something never seen before. My goal is that no one will ever get bored with my work.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been a roll of the dice and full of ups and downs that would shape me into being a better artist and lead to better successes in the future. I didn’t know any artists or have connections to the industry and knew that it would take a lot of effort and risk to make in the art world. During the start of my art career in Jacksonville Beach, Fl, murals barely existed. It wasn’t until I saw the artwork of Shepard Fairey that I got the idea that artwork could be on the side of buildings and not just graffiti tags. I would approach different businesses offering to do murals if supplies were covered and would be turned down. After a week of being denied, a small Mexican restaurant had offered me to paint their bar stools in trade for food and would eventually offer me to paint their skate ramp into the design of a Tecate can that was located in their parking lot. The business shut down shortly after, but before that happened, they had an event to show off the skate ramp. A local photographer, Jared Kantar, took some amazing shots and after hearing the news of the business closing, I made it a point to get my artwork out there and emailed tons of magazines, and one day out of the blue I was notified by Jared that we had a feature photo in the national skate magazine Thrasher. In the photo, it features me holding a can of Tecate and a skateboarder on-ramp and the caption read, “We don’t know who the skater or model is, but Jessica Becker painted the ramp. Go figure. Photo: Kantar”. I was ecstatic about the shoutout, especially that they mentioned me being the Artist over being the model.
Opportunities arose from that project that led me to painting murals in the Jacksonville, FL area and eventually booking a dream project at popular local restaurant TacoLu Baja Mexicana. I would continue to paint at local businesses, and after visiting Art Basel in Miami, FL in 2013, I was on a mission to be a part of the mural scene beginning in the Wynwood area. I would email anyone with the word “Wynwood” in their description in attempt to pick up a project. Eventually, I ran across a contest to paint the back patio area of SHOTS MIA. By some miracle they picked me to paint their 83′ x 15′ space, and with $1000 compensation, I had to figure out how to make that cover my place to stay, food, and transportation. The project had many challenges, but I successfully completed it, and the staff was so happy with the end result that it stayed up years later instead of just a year, as it previously mentioned in contest. I would eventually pick up two more mural projects years after at different businesses, but with the constant yearly rotation of murals, my artwork is no longer there at this time. Those days were so special to me and kept my ego in check. My murals were a temporary installations with a powerful impact that made people have to be at a particular place in a short time frame to catch the magic.
In 2017, I moved to Orlando, FL after my home was severely damaged by Hurricane Irma. I had always wanted an opportunity to move from Jacksonville but never dreamed I’d end up losing everything in order to be where I really needed to be. I would stay with my boyfriend at the times parents until I was able to get on my feet. I would quickly learn that there was a career to be a scenic artist in the Orlando area and would eventually pick up an amazing career with as a full-time Scenic Artist with Adirondack Studios where I’ve painted the new rides at theme parks and work on other production projects for the past 4 years. With this career I’m able to get my mural fix and have a stable life as an Artist while having free time to dedicate to my mixed mural artwork.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My artwork varies but not limited to from canvas, wood cutouts, and sketchbooks that always have a mixed media aspect to them. Most of my artwork is portrait inspired and I will incorporate tattoos of my favorite bands with materials attached to painted image to give it a realistic look. I will use hair extensions for their hair, add false lashes, paint on fabric for their clothing, and use other random materials to make the painting have a custom one-of-a-kind look. I want it to have the impact of something never seen before and make them wonder how it was constructed.
The past couple of years I have done 2 projects with The Sketchbook Project located in St. Petersburg, FL where I’ve made a sketchbook dedicated to my favorite bands, “Play Me” Call # 435. 09-06, and recently finished one dedicated to my favorite comedians, “Take a Joke,” Vol 19/ B6840452. I’m extremely proud of this project because it challenged me to make my mixed media work in smaller form with moving features while showcasing musicians and comedians that I wanted the world to know if they didn’t know them already. It also gave me the opportunity to have my sketchbook in a public space that people could check out anytime and would be among 50,000 other talented Artist’s work from around the world.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Patience. Take things day by day and trust that I will be given the opportunities that will benefit my career in the right time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jessica-becker.com
- Instagram: @gorjessart
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/gorjessart
- Twitter: @gorjessart
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_KHg1aSdDWyckVu6_96hUg
- Other: TikTok @gorjessart
Image Credits
Thrasher skate
Jared Kantar
