We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeanine Colini. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeanine below.
Hi Jeanine, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Over the years, an awareness of our changing world and a willingness to embrace change has made me resilient.
In the late 1980s I had to learn and adapt to a whole new set of digital skills. These did not exist during my early creative education. An even more profound change was the recognition that all the printed corporate work I had produced for over 25 years was no longer relevant, That took a while to get over and then figure out what to do next.
It wasn’t easy and at times it wasn’t fun. But I discovered that a return to basics–creating art—allowed me to refocus and rebuild my business in a way that would be sustainable and bring me joy. I came full circle, starting over again from scratch. It was hard work and required enormous faith.
I told myself, “nobody. can take away my God-given artistic talent.” I truly believe that. I trust the powers that be to guide me along the right path.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m an artist with a strong graphic design and illustration background. What is special about my creative work? I’m doing the very thing I’ve always loved to do since I was a young child–create art. And I get to share it with family, friends and the buying public. Why is this exciting? Because I have supported myself as a creative professional since I graduated from Pratt Institute in 1981. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in communications design.
I worked in New York for three years before moving to Los Angeles and starting my own design firm in 1985. Jeanine Colini Design Associates (jcda.com) specialized in print publication design and included corporate literature, branding and marketing collateral. My clients included public utilities, hospitals, academic institutions and financial services companies.
In the late 1980s designers were required to change how we created and produced our work: from working by hand on a drafting board to working in computer software. A more significant change happened in the late 1990s with the shift away from print media and towards digital media. Now the actual product we created was changing and this change was far more dramatic. It accelerated rapidly and we all had to figure out what to do next. I knew I wasn’t destined for a technical career and quickly ruled that out. I listened closely to my intuition. I’m a tactile creator so I looked to my artistic roots and early training to figure out my next move.
I took my longest-standing body of work out of mothballs. I created “A to Zoo” animal alphabet in 1981 for my senior project at Pratt and sold thousands of alphabet prints during the 80s. Over the years, the critters have enjoyed an illustrious career, appearing on the popular tv series “Dynasty” and in the feature film “Three Men And A Baby.” I granted permission to use “A to Zoo” on the Los Angeles Zoo’s annual Beastly Ball fundraising materials. The critters were published in the “Upper & lower case” typography journal, Pratt Institute publications and exhibited in a show devoted to alphabet design in Memmingen, Germany. Some of the original letters created for the Los Angeles Zoo are in the private collection of actor Jimmy Stewart.
In 2010 I created and marketed new products based on “A to Zoo.” I started with a new edition of alphabet prints and a line of greeting cards. The critters’ popularity picked up right where it left off and continued to be very successful.
My income was now derived from several part-time sources: art sales, assignments through my now smaller design practice and a staff design position at First Congregational Church in Los Angeles. In 2018, I moved to Tucson, Arizona where I felt I could more easily support myself and my business.
The next surprising development arose in 2020. I never would have imagined that COVID would be the catalyst for my new and current business venture. I launched an e-commerce web site to market and sell my artwork. This was the perfect business model during the COVID lockdown when people were stuck at home and paying closer attention to their surroundings. I renamed my company Jeanine Colini Design Art, keeping my web jcda.com address of over 40 years. In the three or so years since making this change, I’ve been creating a whole new body of watercolor and pastel work inspired by nature. “A to Zoo” is still as popular as ever and is joined by a cactus alphabet “A to Z Cactus” with two new alphabet projects in the works.
My most recent commission was for Saint Philip’s In The Hills, Tucson. I created 37 watercolors for publication in the Christmas Eve worship bulletin. The work was also exhibited in the Murphey Gallery at Saint Philips in December 2023 and remains in their permanent art collection. The Nativity art was also accepted into the 7th Annual Creche Festival in Houston in 2023.
Please take a look at my art collection on my web site. There’s something for everyone: original art, commissions, custom names, prints, greeting cards, “A to Zoo by the Numbers” counting book and fine art merchandise. Become a subscriber and learn more about me and my art.
I create whimsical art to brighten your day!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Self Knowledge. Confidence. Honesty.
I was very fortunate to discover my creative path at a very young age. Just as important, I didn’t allow anything or anyone to derail my dream of a creative career. It’s not uncommon for well meaning friends and family to try and steer you off that path and onto one they feel is more secure or predictable.
If there is anything I’ve observed in recent years, it’s that nothing is truly secure or predictable. So I decided it made sense to pursue the things that make me happy because I feel that gives me the greatest chance for success.
“To thine own self be true.” My third grade teacher wrote that in my autograph book back in 1966. I didn’t fully appreciate those words back then but I sure do now!
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
I prefer to invest heavily in my strengths. This keeps me focused and I believe it will keep me on the right path as I work toward some level of business success. Being totally honest, it will also ensure that I’ll have more fun in my work!
Being an artist, by its very nature, is a solo venture. But it’s also wise to have practical knowledge about what goes into a successful business: marketing, accounting, basic organization, computer and technical issues.
We shouldn’t expect to be proficient at all these things. But we should know enough about them to seek out the necessary expertise. There is an old adage that says, “The more you learn about something, the more you realize how little you know.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jcda.com/shop-art
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeaninecolini/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JeanineColiniDesignArt/
