Living the life you want takes more than just daydreams and wishes; it takes a healthy dose of determination. Jessica Henry, Concept Artist and Illustrator, says “Your determination is what makes something happen…or not.”

Jessica’s determination to live life as a working artist has led her to leverage the power of social media to promote her Kickstarter Campaign – “Armed with an Easel”. With this campaign she hopes to fund a painted journey through Europe that she will actively share with her contributors through various social media channels.

Her plan is to paint her way across Europe in the Plein Air style, posting to her blog and other social sites, thus allowing her followers to travel along with her. People can choose which level of support they would like to contribute and in return will receive some form of Jessica’s original artwork inspired by the journey.

Practice Really Does Make Perfect.

Jessica believes that as children, we all have a gift for drawing. But a lot of us stop somewhere along the way to adulthood and pick up other interests. She was lucky enough to have a mother who saw her abilities and taught her to understand that when you decide you want to keep doing something, you need to practice it to get good at it.

As a child, she says she became obsessed with European history, especially the Italian Renaissance, a time when so many new ideas were flourishing in art and culture. A high school trip to Italy gave her the bigger picture for her future. She knew she wanted to build a life as a working artist, traveling and creating visual collections of stories to share with others. For Jessica, the importance of art lies in its inherent ability to connect humans.

“I want to see and share with people the places they typically don’t get to visit – those places that are off the beaten tourist path. Instead of Paris, I’d like to paint scenes in southern France as well as Italy.” Not for her the typical scenes of the Arc de Triomphe or the Tour de Eiffel or crowded sidewalk cafes. She would rather paint less familiar scenes of villages bustling with everyday life and fields wild with lavender, farmers and birdsong. Or the unexpected discovery, like the day she wandered down a side road and chanced upon a yellow vintage pick-up that stole her heart.

Being Happy in her Work

Jessica does not believe in working a job that pays the bills while daydreaming about a life she would rather be living. To that end, she understands that to make her dream a reality she needs to be actively pursuing it. “I want to find a way to be happy working. I don’t want to be the unhappy person in the cubicle, you know, the person that they make sitcoms about.”

Even though she majored in 2D Animation and Visual Development at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, she did worry that she might not be able to earn a full-time living as an artist. But one day a friend gave her a book describing multiple career paths available to artists from animation to book illustration and poster design. It completely changed her outlook about her future and spurred her determination to wholeheartedly pursue work that she loves.

When asked what advice she would give to other people who aren’t quite sure how to make their dream a reality she says “It helps to talk to other people to discover new ideas on how to make it work.”

And what about her plans once this trip is completed? She would love to Plein Air paint her way across the United States. That would be a fun trip to share with people. And a visit to Japan during the two-week long Cherry Blossom Festival is another venture she would love to capture on canvas while letting others come along for the experience via social media.

We live in an age where social sites like Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter offer new mediums for artists like Jessica to design small businesses that require the participation of followers. Armed with an easel and undeniable talent, she is hoping this Kicktstarter campaign not only helps to fund her work and share her story but sets both her and a growing audience on the path of many painted journeys for years to come.

She keeps those early lessons from her mother about the importance of practice and determination squarely in mind. Her daily mantra? “I’m never gonna know unless I try.”

Pretty good advice for all of us.

Featured Image copyright © 2014 Jessica Henry, Church in Milan, watercolor and pen.

You can find more of Jessica’s work at her website http://jahenryart.daportfolio.com/