Stories have kindled Jamin Still’s imagination since he was small. As a child he drew and painted and dreamed, and the power of those things in his life never diminished. He went on to study painting in college and now he paints and writes for a living. Jamin works and lives in a little stone house with his wife and three young children in Wichita, Kansas.
Hope and Hardship
If someone were to ask me, “What is it you’re trying to do with your creative work?” I think I would say, “I want to give hope, but acknowledge hardship.”
Read More ›Introducing Artists & Their Stories: Jamin Still & Kyra Hinton
Today we are thrilled to introduce you to artists &—a project created to meet the need for community among visual artists. Because of the nature of our work (sitting alone in rooms, feeling feelings, figuring out how to share them with the world), artists often wrestle with deep loneliness or isolation. And as we discuss in this first installment of “artists & their stories,” there are so many pieces of wisdom we wish we had when we started, and we hope to offer them to you. We want to say, “Hey, we’ve been there, and you’re not alone. And that thing you think only you struggle with? Nope, we do too. Let’s talk about it.” There are so many beliefs and idealized expectations that are associated with being or identifying as a visual artist, and most of these continue the cycle of isolation, even separating artists from each other (looking at you, imposter syndrome). But we want to invite people into our lives and spaces and dismantle these isolating ideals, finding each other in the authenticity of our experiences.
Read More ›The Adventures of Fenigus March
This year I started a project called The Adventures of Fenigus March. It will be a series of paintings with accompanying one-page short stories that will eventually be put into a book. Read More ›
Collaboration on The Wishes of the Fish King
Collaboration is such a powerful thing. When done well, it can bring together two unique visions — each complimenting the other — to form something greater. Read More ›
The Wishes of the Fish King
“A pleasure is full grown only when it is remembered.”
― C.S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet Read More ›
On the Easel and on the Horizon
Kickstarting Ellen and the Winter Wolves was quite the exhausting undertaking, so getting the last supporters’ book in the mail was a relief. I’m really happy with how the book turned out and how it was Read More ›
More Story Seeds, Ellen Picture Book, and House Show
I wrote a post this spring about little stories I write (two to three sentences long) that go along with my paintings. These story starters or story seeds are designed to get the imagination of the viewer going and let Read More ›
Creating a Picture Book: Part III – Kickstarter and the Final Stages
[This is the third post about the creation of Ellen and the Winter Wolves. You can read part 1 here and part 2 here.] Read More ›
Creating a Picture Book: Part II – Things I Didn’t Think About
[This is the second post about the creation of Ellen and the Winter Wolves. You can read part I here.]
Creating a Picture Book: Part I – The Beginning
Over the years people have encouraged me to do a picture book. I love to paint and I love to write, so why not put those things together? And I’ve wanted to, but I simply haven’t. Other projects have Read More ›
Creating the Cover for Everlasting is the Past
When Pete and Andrew approached me about the cover art for Everlasting is the Past, I was excited. When they told me they wanted a cover with a woodcut look in black and white, I was a little nervous. I hadn’t Read More ›
Story Seeds
Back in March I traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for an arts festival. As I prepared my pieces for display, I tried to figure out how I could inject a little more story into my paintings. And so I Read More ›