Meet Jackie Morrison | Graphic Artist & Face Painter

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

Hi Jackie, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
It kind of happened organically – I was just talking to someone about this – being an artist sometimes you have a lot of “side hustles” – also being a mom it’s certainly beneficial to have flexibility in your schedule. My official career is actually as a graphic designer for the film & television industry (I am in the Art Director’s Guild which is an IATSE union, Local 800) – but I guess I still crave more artistic endeavors? Don’t get me wrong I LOVE my job and I worked really hard to get into the union and get to where I am in the industry (I am very lucky to be starting my 5th season working on the ABC show The Rookie in June) – but there are also periods of downtime in between shows as anyone in this industry knows, and especially since I had kids there was maternity leaves, a pandemic, and then back to back strikes with the writers (WGA) and then the actors (SAG-AFTRA) – so I think that too left opportunities for me to not only fill that time with some creative but also find ways to supplement my income especially in the “leaner” times. During the pandemic I started my ETSY shop, during the strikes I painted two large scale murals, and another passion hobby of mine is making custom-designed cookies. So face painting was kind of the next step in a line of hustles of mine over the years – I have at times joked about myself as being a “Jackie of all trades”. But I will say this one (Face painting) has been the most successful by far – both in terms of the money I’m able to make doing it and the amount of bookings I’ve been getting – it’s really taken off in an amazing way!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
So right now I am focusing mostly on face painting, but as I mentioned I am going back to The Rookie as the graphic designer in June, and I am also working on a children’s book (I forgot to mention that!) – a friend and former coworker of mine approached me during the strikes and asked if I would be interested in illustrating a story he had written and I jumped at the project because I’ve always wanted to try drawing a kids book (probably has a lot to do with how many kids books I’ve read over the years now, my kids are 6 and 8).

I think the phrase that comes to mind when I think about all my artistic endeavors is that with every different pursuit there was a time when I saw someone else doing it and thought “I think I can do that”. I am not athletic at all, I’m not very passionate about cooking or carpentry, but when it comes to anything arts & crafts, I’ve always had quite a knack for it – which I think in huge part was fostered by my Grandma, as I mentioned – she was always so patient with me as a kid – teaching me new crafts, new techniques, and even life lessons such as “An artist never makes mistakes, they just improvise or incorporate”. That was huge for me, because I was always quite the perfectionist, but realizing that if you make a mark with your paint brush or your pen that you didn’t intend, that’s ok! If you are able to see if that way, sometimes it makes your piece even better! It was a lesson not just about art, but having an open mind to the world and unexpected changes, etc. Now in my work as a graphic designer especially I always say I am the queen of happy accidents – I’ll be working on a logo or something and I’ll hit a shortcut on my keyboard by mistake and it will make something happen that I didn’t intend and I’ll look at it and think, huh, I like that!

So much of art I think is just that – keeping an open mind and letting it take you places maybe you weren’t expecting, and knowing that every artist not only has a unique style, but some artists have strengths that others don’t and that’s ok, that can be a good thing. As a graphic designer, I by far have gotten the most work and referrals, not from the people hiring me (art directors, production designers), but from other graphic designers! It’s an amazing network – the more collaborative you can be, the more you will succeed – you learn so much from other artists, and they give you confidence too, and then you can pay it forward by helping the next generation. I remember one artist telling me that when she started making videos online of tutorials showing how she makes her art, her business soared – she was scared at first thinking people would just steal her ideas or copy her but it was the opposite – it got people interested in her work and help her thrive. So much of being an artist is getting inspiration from other artists. I think that’s one thing that makes me successful is not having an ego or worrying about competition in my work – I know that learning from others will always make me better at what I do.

And lastly I want to mention another catchphrase of mine which is “Craft Patience” – and I came up with this once because I think there are others that don’t look at these crafts or artistic mediums with the same “I can do that” mentality as me – and I often (not trying to brag) get comments about how “talented” I am. I think I am very creative, yes, to the point where, I have to do art or I think I would be very depressed, but “talented”? I don’t know, I’m not trying to be humble necessarily and it’s not that I don’t have confidence in myself because I do – but I don’t think I’m any kind of crazy gifted person you know? I think I have a lot of craft patience! A lot of crafts and artistic pursuits require just that – a lot of time sitting and working on a project. And that was something I always had – I would be working on a project and my grandma would set up a table for me with a light so I could keeping working long into the night on something – I think that’s also why I’m such a night owl – I often feel the most creative in those quiet, dark, night hours, just me and my work light. My daughter has it too I think – during a school art event or a camp craft activity she is often one of the last left still sitting and putting the final touches on her piece while all the other kids have moved on to the playground. That was me, and I honestly do not feel the time pass – I remember being in art class in school that was a 3 hour class – and some kids would find that a hard class to get through – for me, I barely noticed that it was that long and I would just hone in on my project and not talk to anyone and be completely content. There is a scene in the Pixar movie Soul where they talk about this – being in the “zone” – and that is totally how it feels – that I transcend space and time – and it’s incredible – and I think maybe that’s what is special about me – not that I am particularly “talented”. I’ve practiced my crafts for many many hours – like when my daughter gets frustrated and says to me “how come you’re so good at that??” and I tell her I am much older than you and have had many years of practice – you can’t get good at anything without tons of practice.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well I live in Burbank, and I love Burbank – to me it is the perfect blend of family friendly for my kids and even has a small town feel in that we run into people we know all the time – but also has so much personality and doesn’t feel too suburban or cookie-cutter – it’s got a big city vibe too in that you can always find something to do or good places to eat or shop, etc.

Places to eat: Porto’s, Dino’s (my personal FAVORITE pizza place in all California, hands down), I used to love Siri Thai before it closed, and I also love Cafe De Olla though you have to go at off peak times if you don’t want to wait an hour. There’s also Castaway which is a bit pricey but one of my favorite places to celebrate something special because the food and the view are both amazing.

And in the same area as Castaway is the Starlight Bowl which we love, Burbank’s little hidden gem, our own mini Hollywood Bowl. We also spend a lot of time at Valley Skate Park in Burbank because my son is a skateboarder, but they also have a great playground and lots of areas to picnic, play catch, etc – we often meet up with friends there so we can chat and the kids can play.

Trying to think of stuff I did when my cousin visited, we love the LA Zoo, that’s a great deal for a year membership for families, we went to Sugarfish for sushi which I think is to die for (very LA but they also have one in Sherman Oaks) – oh and another thing I love to do is take people to visit the Paramount Lot where we shoot The Rookie and give them a tour of the sets and the backlot – it still gets me excited!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First and foremost is my husband – not only is he always supportive of my creative endeavors, but he also helps me load up my kit and equipment whenever I need, never balks when I have to leave for a face paint job during the weekend (which is when most of my bookings are), and he understands how much my creative pursuits make me who I am – it feeds my soul on a very deep level – it makes me a better wife and mom to be able to be creative – it brings me so much joy, and to have a partner that gets that is so amazing. Then there is also my mom who also helps watch the kids when I have events, and was of course my number 1 supporter before I met Brad – having a mom who always supports your dreams and passions even when you’re a kid is huge because it gave me the confidence to believe in myself and she always provided me with opportunities when I was young to improve my skills and keep learning. And lastly I have to mention my Grandma – she is reason I am artistic to begin with – she is crafty too and an amazing artist – growing up she would do crafts with me all the time and take me to all kinds of craft fairs and craft shopping sprees – we are very kindred spirits in that way.

Website: https://www.jackiemorrisondesigns.com/facepainting

Instagram: @jmorrison333