Jaya Saxena is a Marietta-based artist with such a warm and welcoming spirit. I’ve known her for a couple of years now and always enjoy our conversations about art and life in general. She doesn’t drink alcohol - which is fine since she doesn’t need a cocktail to get her candid personality to shine. However, she did make us a delicious blackberry mint spritzer. It’s light and refreshing so I can see why it’s her favorite summer drink. Simply pour some Sprite over crushed blackberries, add some muddled mint leaves and you’re good to go. And, if you do want to add a little kick to it, you can easily replace the Sprite with your favorite bubbly..
When you walk into Jaya’s basement studio you are directly transported into her happy place. She’s lucky to have a large, open space where she can create her art, display her work and entertain guests when she hosts open studio events. It’s obvious that painting is her passion as dozens (probably more!) of her vibrant paintings line the walls. You can’t help but wonder around and study each one.
We spoke a lot about how she has begun to gravitate more towards abstract painting. If you’re someone who may not “get” abstract paintings, Jaya does a nice job of explaining what makes it special to her and the unique partnership between the artist and viewer. She also loves the opportunity that abstract artists have to explore color, composition and texture whereas representational subjects can be more restrictive. Her goal of any abstract piece is to create inspiring work that gives the viewer something new to discover each time he or she sees it.
Jaya has done a wonderful job of getting her work out into the world. One of our final discussion topics centered on how she approaches retail locations and how artists can't let the fear of rejection keep them from trying. And, even after an artist is accepted into a gallery or show,, she mentions that doesn't necessarily guarantee the artist a sale - and why it shouldn't be taken personally.
You are going to love getting to know Jaya and learning about her journey as an artist. - watch our full conversation here. You can also follow her on Instagram and Facebook or visit her website to see more of her work.