Meet Janessa Bookout | Artist, Author and Art Coach

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

Hi Janessa, how do you think about risk?
There is a great risk in being an artist on any level. Even just the decision to take my first real art class in high school and then to leap into my future by attending art school felt like a risk. It would have been much easier to stay safe and do the “normal college” thing with state schools and frat parties. I was a straight A student who could have gone in any direction, but I felt a calling toward my career in art.

I risked experiencing all the criticism of my art. I risked not being “good enough”. I risked facing my own fears and insecurities on many levels. But all of those risks seemed completely worth it compared to the idea of remaining in mediocrity and monotony of a life without art.

So I moved across the country, alone at age 18. I still remember the culture shock of going from Tulsa Oklahoma to Baltimore, Maryland. I attended one of the most prestigious art schools in the nation, which happened to be in one of the highest crime cities surrounded by extreme wealth and extreme poverty on every corner. We were constantly at risk of being mugged or having our cars broken into as we learned to watch our back in a way I never comprehended growing up in Tulsa.

I had scholarships, grants and student loans. I worked in restaurants and did work study programs to pay my bills. I had 6 hour long studio classes that expected 6 hours of homework outside of class. When I look back at those years I wonder how I ever managed to get it all done, but somehow I took on that risk of being an independent artist and came out stronger as a result.

In the end it was all 100% worth it, as I attained my degree in 2004, a Bachelors of Fine Art, and went on to figure out life as an artist beyond school. I was no longer an “art student” so I had to step up and become a “real artist” whatever that meant? So I continued working in restaurants for many years as I also took jobs doing anything creative I could find.

I worked as a fabricator in the exhibits department at a zoo. I worked in wood shops and metal shops. I worked as a fashion model and did freelance work of all kinds. I was in many art shows and managed to sell some art but it was never enough to be a full time working artist. I travelled around the U.S. for years looking for answers of where I was meant to be and what I was meant to do.

I finally settled in on the beaches of Southern California in 2008. As our economy was crumbling from the real estate bubble and social media seemed to be changing the world around us, I decided the time was now… or it would be never. I started with Venice Beach and later relocated to Huntington Beach where I still reside today.

It was while I was living in Venice that I met my true love, a surfboard shaper who is quite the creative artist in his own right. Together we formed a partnership in business and life and we continue to support each others dreams as we survive the turbulence of small business ownership amidst the covid era shutdown and now the post pandemic inflation.

We have talked quite a bit over the years about how miraculous the events of our life together have been. Although we have been through some very difficult times, somehow our risks have all turned to rewards as we reap the harvest of our decades of hard work, creativity and faith in a power much greater than ourselves.

Now I have embarked on another new journey, as a newly published author and artist coach. It was a huge risk to write a book at all, sharing some very personal parts in my story with the public in hopes of helping other artists on a similar path.

The experience of writing and publishing my first book “ARTworkaholic” also led me to offer myself as an art coach and creative business consultant to my fellow artists.

It has taken a while to understand how my path led me here but I am feeling both inspired and more confident than I have in years as I embraced my full identity and rebuilt my own professional artist website at janessabookoutart.com to share all my fine art and creative services in one place.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I make sculptures and paintings out of a home studio in Huntington Beach, CA. I work with mixed media materials of all kinds in my sculpture and typically prefer acrylic paints on canvas for my 2D work but I have dabbled with oils and still love to draw with pencil, charcoal and pastel.

My subject matter varies from portraiture, to ocean landscapes and into the surreal realm of mermaids and angels. I am constantly inspired by people and nature as well as more spiritual or mystical understanding of our human experience on earth.

When I first partnered with Dave Moore of DMZ Surfboards in Huntington Beach, I became enamored with the materials he used to make surfboards, as they were so similar to what I was doing already in my studio. I watched with awe learning how they made such perfectly smooth surfaces on perfectly symmetrical hand-shaped surfboards and simply bowed down to the craftsmanship and hydro-engineering it took to make a surfboard that not only looked beautiful to the eye, but also performed well for each surfer’s unique needs.

Although I still don’t surf much myself, I have been fully embraced by the surf culture of Malibu, LA and HB as I have been able to show and sell my surf art inspired by the beach life I live to the fullest. I currently volunteer with our surf club, the Malibu Surfing Association, helping with live events and nonprofit paperwork. I also continue to use reclaimed surfboards and other materials I gather from the surf industry in my art studio.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First stop is always to the beach. From Malibu, to Huntington to Laguna we are blessed to live in paradise and it’s usually a visit from a friend who makes it even better to share the experience with. I also love taking friends to eat at local restaurants, having some self care spa days or even some bargain hunting at thrift shops. We may go to see art, surfing events or scenic overlooks to just be together and get that epic photo-op to prove we were there.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are two women who helped shape the outcome of my life.

First, my mother, Nancy Bookout, made some big changes for herself and her children when I was too young to really understand how incredible it was.

She was able to escape an abusive relationship with my father and became the rock for her two young children. She always worked hard to provide for us as she also got sober from her addiction to alcohol and went on to put herself through college.

She was always very honest with me about our circumstances but also gave me a sense of pride knowing how hard she worked for the life we had. I am humbled when I think of her back then, the age I am now, doing all she did with what little she had to make sure we were never quite spoiled, but never really wanted for anything.

Second, my high school art teacher, Linda Stilley, opened a door for me into the art world that I never really thought of as a career option.

The first step was learning how to draw from observation and the basics of mixing paint. These two skills allowed me to express myself through the non-verbal language of art. I didn’t really understand at the time, but I have come to realize that tool helped me process and deal with issues related to childhood trauma and teenage angst.

On top of the therapeutic aspect of my art, my horizons expanded again when an art school recruiter came to my magnet high school and pitched the idea of getting a degree in art. That was the beginning of everything for me. I diligently applied to a dozen art schools and ended up attending MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) after they offered me a scholarship I couldn’t refuse.

I seriously cannot imagine how different my life would have been without these two woman helping to guide my life in the right direction toward love, independence and creativity. I am also blessed to still have a very close relationship with each of them, whom I often reach out to for advice or just to share the news of my developing career as an artist, author and art coach.

Website: https://janessabookoutart.com

Instagram: @janessabookoutart

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janessa511/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janessabookoutart

Other: https://learn.janessabookout.com