Pamela Jaeger chats with us about her beautifully intense artwork, her love for records, and the meaning behind all of the women she paints.
Sezio: Where did you grow up?
Pamela Jaeger: I grew up in San Diego.
SZ: Are you a full time artist, or are you holding down a day job as well as pursuing your art career?
PJ: I don’t have a consistent day job right now, although I would like to get into teaching. I do commissions, illustrations and odd (non-art related) jobs once in a while. I just started selling some prints and other things on Etsy.com too. My Etsy site is pamelajaeger.etsy.com and my regular website is pamelajaeger.com
SZ: I read that you attended SDSU and obtained a BA in fine arts with an emphasis in Graphic design. Does the computer ever play a role in your art today?
PJ: It doesn’t play a role in the finished painting, but the computer is definitely necessary for me to upload photographs of paintings, designing postcards and other things related to my art.
SZ: Your work tends to lean towards the fantastic and is soft, dream-like with a story book feel. Where do you find visual inspiration?
PJ: I find inspiration in costumes. I especially like the Georgian, Elizabethan, Renaissance and Gothic Periods. I also like to research beauty traditions throughout time.
SZ: Tell us about the role of women in your art. Are there specific messages or a conscious thread that runs through all of those pieces or do they just happen to include women?
PJ: Sometimes they are autobiographical or about people I know. They are characters I like to name and create a story about. I love painting people and creating scenes or worlds for the characters to live in. The world is usually an ideal world that is overly romantic and unrealistic. I like to create a sweet innocence at first glance. The characters are usually women but the paintings are almost always about men and the balance between the two.
SZ: How do you approach a painting? What is your process like? Are all of your works premeditated or are you sometimes compelled to start one without a plan?
PJ: I spend a lot of time at the library researching different things. I’m interested in books about psychology. I’ve been looking at Carl Jung’s, “Man and his Symbols” lately. It’s a wonderful book. Sometimes ideas will come directly from my journals or parts of dreams I write down. Then I start with sketches and cut parts of them out and rearrange the composition to find what works visually. Lately I’ve been starting with dark paint and lightening as the painting progresses. This gives it a more dramatic feeling.
SZ: Do you paint all the time? When you are not painting what are you doing?
PJ: I paint a lot when I’m really excited about an idea, but I definitely go through phases when I have a block. Right now I’m obsessed with creating. When I’m not painting I’m thinking about what I need to do next. There is a certain amount of anxiety that comes with the not knowing that drives me forward. ...I like to read, camp, walk, garden, wine bars are nice and going to see bands play but I like staying home a lot too.
SZ: What music are you listening to?
PJ: Wilco,Tom Waits, M.Ward, Gram Parsons, The Verve's new cd is great and Radioheads. I love playing records and have a huge collection of them.
SZ: What are you currently working on?
PJ: I am currently working on a cast for a Keep-a-Breast auction in October and I will also have paintings in the Oceanside Museum of Art from January 24th to May 24th 2009. I’m also working on a commission and a series of dolls for my Etsy site.