Meet Jacquelin Nagel: Artist & Floral Designer

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

Hi Jacquelin, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Work life balance has always been a tricky spot for me. If I’m not working enough I can get myself into a slump. And if I’m working too much, I can feel overwhelmed and too busy to truly be creative, which also gets me in a slump. I’ve found that I am happiest working on several different creative projects at once, allowing me to always have fresh eyes on the project I’m focusing on that day. The different projects usually include a mix of one large painting that will usually take me a couple months to complete, a smaller more fast paced collage or drawing, and fulfilling dried floral orders or some type of floral experiment. Work life balance has been weird this year, as the “life” part in Los Angeles has been pretty non-existent. But I always feel my mind is working artistically to some degree. My “off” days inspire me and help me to be a better artist/designer during my studio days. I really just try to listen to myself and my emotions to give myself what I need in order to not burn out in any area. For example, I have pretty much been working on large paintings back to back since 2016 and I could feel myself starting to burn out. This year I took a break from them for a couple months after finishing my painting “POTHOS” and started working on smaller paintings, numerous studies in different kinds of media, new collages, a dried floral collection, and new floral youtube channel. I’ve learned there are so many different ways to keep my creative mind engaged and create more balance for myself within my process so I never have to feel creatively stuck. 

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have been drawing, painting, and trying to create things since I can remember. As I grew up many things came and went for me, in terms of interests and goals, but Art always stuck. I received my Bachelors of Arts with a concentration in painting and drawing from Loyola Marymount University. I would not be where I am today without some of my incredible professors and mentors from this time including DJ Hall, Han Dai-Yu, Jane Brucker, and Cynda Valle. I’ve been blessed to show around Los Angeles the past couple years amongst many other talented artists. During this same time, I took over a friends college job at a small local company called Petal Forest as a floral designer. On my first day of work I knew absolutely nothing about flowers, but knew designing sounded creative and fun. I quickly realized florals was a great way for me to make a living while feeling satisfied artistically. Fast forward a few years, and I’m the Lead Floral Designer of an event company (Lark Los Angeles) and I’m growing my own floral business, Petal Drip. Lately, I’m excited to see my worlds overlapping. I truly believe that Life is Art and Art is Life so it is only natural that flowers and plants have found their way into my paintings and my art background has found its way into my floral designing. I feel like I am truly starting to hit a sweet spot artistically as these two passions merge. Getting where I am today was not easy, but I can definitely say I have loved every second. Any time I have been told “it’s really hard to make it as an artist/ creative” I just try to use it to fuel my fire. I strive for my goals every single day and I know one day my hard work will pay off. God’s plan is crazy and I am really excited to see where it takes me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would definitely want to take them to Malibu for a beach day. My favorite spot is El Matador Beach! It’s super scenic and beautiful and feels less crowded than other larger beaches. We would have to stop at one of my favorite restaurants, Laurel Hardware. Go shopping at the grove/the new Century City Westfield mall! Get a cocktail on the rooftop of the Shangri-La Hotel. Take them to the Los Angeles Flower Market! Grab a beer at Big Deans in Santa Monica. Get some pupusas from El Baron. Check out a show at Thinkspace Art Gallery.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I wanted to dedicate this shout out to Visual Culture Arts. VCA is the art gallery and artist management company I was invited to join a couple years ago. Mel Barrett is so amazing and has represented several promising emerging artists in Los Angeles. She has gone out of her way to get our work into gallery spaces and group shows. I have had the pleasure of showing alongside incredible artists thanks to her efforts and hard work. I am forever grateful for Mel and VCA and the opportunities it has created for myself and my fellow VCA artists.

Website: https://www.jacquelinnagelart.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackienagel_art/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuoPSQ2IGzTQFmp_wMrQAmQ
Other: Floral Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petaldrip/