'World Famous on ArterNet Art' - Featured Guest Artist

September 18, 2021

'World Famous on ArterNet Art' - Featured Guest Artist - Vera Jochum

'Let's Pass Some Time' No. 13 8 21

Acrylics on stretched canvas

50 x 50 cm 19.7 " x 19.7 "

Vera Jochum

It's a pleasure to introduce you to an artist, who is well known, not only in her home state of Saarland in Germany, but her works are in homes across the globe.

Vera Jochum is our featured guest artist on

'World Famous on ArterNet Art'

Vera loves to experiment and combine different materials and techniques to create a unique and distinctive art style. Her preferred media is acrylic paint, leaves, metal, chalk paint, plaster and recycled materials such as cardboard.

This unusual combination of media results in unique, curious and colourful images that evoke emotions in every viewer.

They take the mind on a journey of discovery.

Although she plans the images, she doesn't actually strictly adhere to a plan, but responds intuitively to the outcome.

It's an energetic process of construction, destruction and reconstruction that is reflected in her works.

As she says, she tries to articulate form, colour, texture and composition and transfers her version of the visual input onto the canvas.

ArterNet Art: Hi Vera, thanks so much for agreeing to this article. Can you give our readers an idea of how you became an artist?

Vera: Being an artist has probably always been a part of me. As long as I can remember, I have always had ideas and the urge to express myself creatively.

This was not only expressed as a visual artist, but also musically. I think most artists have talents on several creative levels.

As a freelance artist, however, I only became self-employed at a late stage. It was a process that took a long time and it was only because of the situation I faced during the pandemic that the decision finally matured to do it.

ArterNet Art: What difficulties or major hurdles, if any, did you have to overcome on your way to becoming the successful, established artist we see today?

Vera: There were no major hurdles to overcome. Of course, as a lateral entrant into the art market, you have to develop completely different considerations and strategies. I can only say that I am still absolutely speechless about the encouragement I receive in the social media. My immediate environment has always been convinced of my talent and encouraged me to present my works to the public. However, I would never have dreamed of the reach I am achieving on Instagram. I never imagined that I would ever sell paintings on an international level.

ArterNet Art: That is really good to hear. What or who were your early influences?

Vera: I have always been fascinated by cubism, even though I have no particular talent for cubist work. I was always fascinated by the work of Georges Braque. My first steps into the world of real paintings were to copy paintings by Braque as a teenager. But very soon my own style developed.

'Feelings from the Ashes' No. 28 8 21 Acrylics on stretched canvas.

50 x 50 cm 19.7 " x 19.7 "

ArterNet Art: What attracted you to the medium you chose?

Vera: I painted my early works exclusively with oil paints. Since I didn't have my own studio at that time, it turned out to be very difficult. Oil paint takes a really long time to dry and then such a painting can sometimes disturb a whole room in its actual function.

A few years ago, I discovered acrylic paint for myself. Working with it is completely different. It opened up completely new possibilities for me. When I had my own studio, I started to experiment a lot and also worked with structures and collage elements.

ArterNet Art: Can you explain a little about your chosen techniques and how you use them?

Vera: That's hard to put into a few sentences. I love to experiment and to combine different techniques and materials in new ways. I rarely use a brush. So many things can be used to work on a painting. Most of my paintings are created in many different layers. Even though the finished painting often looks as if it was painted in one go, this is usually not the case. I always try to work out a structure and depth with the colour, even with monochrome elements in the picture.

Ideally, this looks to the viewer later on as if the colour surface had only been breathed on. That is what I find interesting: lightness in a painting. And only when you try it yourself will you see that this is not so easy to achieve and requires a lot of practice. Even I still fail at it regularly.

ArterNet Art: Can you give us some insights into your process from conception to creation?

Vera: Here is a step by step example of my processes.

This is the design on Stonepaper

Laying out the background

The almost finished painting. Here only the details are missing

Finished

ArterNet Art: Where does your inspiration mainly come from?

Vera: I find inspiration everywhere. Sometimes it's just a glimpse of something that catches my attention. It can be during walks, travels or even quite profanely the daily newspaper. If a subject touch me, it also flows unconsciously into my work.

ArterNet Art: How has your work developed since its beginnings and how do you see it developing in the future?

Vera: The main difference between my earlier work and today's is that I started to abstract. In the early years I worked much more figuratively. Breaking away from that was a real maturing process. I still draw almost daily, but more for my own pleasure. Very few people know that I can draw very well. But that was exactly the prerequisite for me to allow myself to work abstractly. Simply applying paint to a canvas would have missed the artistic approach for me.

ArterNet Art: Give us an overview of a work that has particularly stuck in your memory and why?

Vera: I can't give you a specific work. What definitely stuck in my memory is when I first started working with Stone paper. Working with it inspired me and has since been incorporated into many of my paintings on canvas as well. The colour behaves so differently than on other surfaces that it is possible to explore completely new techniques and ways of working. Since then, I have been trying to implement these in my other paintings, which is a nice challenge.

ArterNet Art: Is there anything in particular that inspires you to create art?

Vera: No, there is nothing in particular that I could name. It's a deep inner need. If I can't go to my studio for a day to work then I miss it. I am always so full of ideas that I cannot realize them all.

ArterNet Art: What was your most beautiful or memorable art sale?

Vera: I still remember my first sale via Instagram to Finland to a collector I didn't know at all.

But I was most pleased when an artist from the USA, whom I admire very much, bought a painting of mine and assured me that he was my biggest fan.

That made me very happy.

'Let's pass some time' Acrylics on stretched canvas 50 x 50 cm 19.7 " x 19.7 "

ArterNet Art: How do you market your artworks: do you have any tips? Do you have any problems with marketing and in which areas could you use help?

Vera: I market my work through my own website, exhibitions and also Instagram. Anyone who is interested in one of my paintings is welcome to contact me. I am also represented on some sales platforms, which I hope will help me in the future.

ArterNet Art: How has your art business/career changed in the last 6 months or year?

Vera: In the last 6 months, it has changed mainly because more and more renowned doors are opening for me in the art market and well-known and successful artists are joining. T

his makes you feel accepted and appreciated among like-minded people.

ArterNet Art: Do you have any other hobbies, sports or interests besides art?

Vera: I have always been involved in many things, but in the end, they mostly have something to do with creativity. For many years I organized an open-air festival and various concerts with a focus on jazz together with friends. For a while I was the bass player in a women's rock band and also sang in a choir for a long time.

Besides that, I did karate for many, many years.

ArterNet Art: What plans and goals do you have for the future, both creatively and personally?

Vera: To be able to make a living from my art at some point and to find a gallery that represents me and my work. That would be nice. Personally, I don't have many wishes.

Health, of course, and being able to spend time with friends again without worries are among them, as they are for most other people.

ArterNet Art: What advice would you give to an aspiring new artist?

Vera: To be fearless and authentic and to go through life with an open mind.

That is the only advice I give. Only then can you be satisfied with your work.

Under no circumstances should you succumb to the temptation of pandering to a fad or the mainstream. That may bring a few sales in the short term, but certainly not artistic development or satisfaction with one's own work.