Meet Jeanette Getrost | Artist & Director

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

Hi Jeanette, how do you think about risk?
I believe risk taking is rather vital in order to have more purpose, or direction in life. It’s something I think about a lot and have learned to treat it like a practice. There are perhaps greater risks than others, but so long as you aren’t harming anyone, a risk is essentially a leap of faith with an immediate reward—be it obtaining the thing we actually wanted, or a lesson we needed to learn. Either way, those leaps (or baby steps) are a great way to course correct or shake things up when life has become too safe, or stagnant. A way I like to self-motivate is to look back and note that the most serendipitous moments in life always came after doing something bold, or courageous.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
The short answer is that I’m a predominantly self-taught artist. I began my artistic career as a fashion illustrator and over the course of several years branched into figurative and interior painting, and now art directing and film directing. That timeline in one sentence is kind of amusing because the evolution began almost a decade ago, or childhood is perhaps more realistic. My father is a musician and my mother (who loves to say she is not an artist, but I would argue is an avid appreciator) provided my siblings and I with an environment that I feel fostered self-discovery and creativity. I was actually homeschooled for several years and during those years had piano lessons and a pretty rigorous schedule as a competitive dancer. Those two disciplines taught me the importance of having a solid foundation, and that improvements were often made in private based on one’s dedication to the practice. While that all sounds romantic, and in certain ways it was, I also experienced some hardships and as a teen turned to drawing because it was something I could easily access. In college, I enrolled in a life drawing course as per the suggestion of an illustration teacher who said my drawing skills needed improvement. I learned everything I needed to in that course, that developing the eye was the most important thing, and applied that method when studying different art forms and mediums.

Currently, I’m art directing for a wonderful musician’s upcoming record. We’re essentially creating a world that visually supports the sound of the record, and that includes everything from directing music videos to creating concepts for shoots, as well as content for press and social media. It’s basically touching on all things I love: music, film, and visuals. It’s also quite literally taking ideas off paper—some of my drawings are informing some of our shoots.

In retrospect, it makes sense to have landed where I am now, though it took until recently to feel comfortable moving into arenas where I wasn’t formally trained. I also at times felt that I was too all over the place. I think that’s why directing maybe feels the most rewarding and also the most natural. Having studied different art forms from music and dance, to fashion and painting, I’m able to understand how sound, movement and visuals all inform one another. Additionally, as an artist myself, I can empathize with others in their vocation and spotlight their strengths. Aesthetically speaking, I feel the through line in my work is first driven by beauty; I like to aim for a delicate human touch that almost veers on otherworldly. Somehow in the end there always exists a surreal, or unintentional dark undertone.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I think I’m still transitioning from pandemic mode, so my suggestions are a bit modest at the moment. However, nature is the best thing our city has to offer so I would first plan a hike—Red Rock Canyon in Topanga Canyon is a favorite, and a post-hike coffee or smoothie at Cafe Mimosa. The canyon is a few minutes from the coast, so would follow up with a cleansing ocean swim. I live on the east side and one of my usual dining spots is Botanica in Silver Lake. They have really beautiful dinners, but I often go for an espresso, or turmeric latte and their date-cardamom scone after a morning Reservoir walk. For my fellow artist friend, I’d plan an afternoon and evening in Los Feliz. We would have lunch at Loupiotte Kitchen, a small French-owned cafe—their vegetarian sandwich and chai latte are the best. Next door is BellJar, a boutique with racks of covetable dresses—there’s also a small flower shop around the corner where you can arrange your own bouquets. Afterwards, we’d walk down to my art store, Blue Rooster, and grab supplies. There’s an artist studio a few streets over that hosts uninstructed figure drawing workshops on Monday and Thursday evenings—We would go and after share our drawings over some vino at Figaro Bistrot.

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?
The first person that comes to mind is my grandmother. She had a special way of making everyone who came in contact with her feel special and seen. She hand wrote a small note to me days before she passed, and her words have remained a constant source of love and motivation since. Secondly, I’m humbled when I recount the people who have encouraged me, or dedicated their time over the years, from family members, to soul sisters, to my neighbors, and my love. I love you all. Lastly, Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way deserves a special nod.

Website: jeanettegetrost.co

Instagram: @JeanetteGetrost