Meet The Artist: Jessica Peddicord

 I'm thrilled to introduce you to an artist whose personality is as vibrant as her beautiful watercolors! Meet Jessica Peddicord of Simply Jessica Marie. Jessica and Cailíní Coastal have much in common, namely, our shared love for all things blue and white, and complete obsession with ginger jars and fluffy flowers (ahem, hydrangeas and peonies). I discovered Jessica's work during the pre-launch research phase of the business and was giddy at the thought of selling her stylish prints. What I love most about Jessica's work is how unique her pieces are. They're truly one-of-a-kind!

Since we launched with Jessica's work four months ago, we've doubled the number of prints we offer, added larger sizes (per your requests!), and introduced new products like the chicest tea towels you'll ever find and, our latest addition, hand-painted chinoiserie inspired ceramic pumpkins!

Our new Limited Edition pumpkins are an exclusive collaboration with Simply Jessica Marie that you'll only be able to find at Cailíní Coastal. Each pumpkin is individually hand painted by Jessica personally, making them an extra special keepsake piece you can use year after year or gift to someone most deserving. We're so excited to share more about Jessica's background and work and for you to preview our exciting new additions!

xo Meg

Credit: Laylee Emadi

CC: Where are you based?

JP: I’m currently based in Dallas, Texas! I grew up in North Carolina, and moved to Nashville after graduation. That’s where I met my husband, and his job brought us from Nashville to Knoxville, and then to Dallas where we’ve been for the past few years. I love it here, it’s such a creative city!

CC: Tell us about your background and how you got your start as a artist:

JP: I’ve been painting for as long as I can remember - I have this cute photo my parents snapped of me when I was probably two years old sitting in my high chair with watercolors and the biggest grin on my face. I also have early memories of my great grandma teaching me how to color inside the lines.

While I didn’t get a formal art degree (I studied Sport & Event Management with minors in Business and Psychology - I was a wedding planner for a few years!), I took art classes any chance I could.

My junior year of college I started Simply Jessica Marie as a lifestyle blog, and then started my shop in 2013 the summer after after graduation with a handful of art prints and hand painted canvases.

Seven years later, I now specialize in art that celebrates the people, pets, and places you call home. Art prints that remind you of fond memories (like flowers that filled your childhood home, or the city where you took a really fun girls trip), classic home decor pieces that help you relax and entertain graciously, and watercolor family and wedding crests that are equally beautiful and personality packed.

I also adore educating budding watercolor artists through my SJM Art School online courses! It’s such a joy to teach this beautiful art form. I love teaching in a way that’s thorough but not overwhelming - with classes that cover everything from how to pick up your paintbrush for the very first time, to more advanced classes covering how to digitize your artwork for printed products. Connecting with my students is definitely one of my favorite parts of my business.

Credit: Laylee Emadi

CC: In what style do you paint?

JP: I’ve kind of coined the term “refined whimsy” for my style! I love combining looser washes of color with finer lines and shading to make my artwork pop while still having a soft aesthetic.

CC: What type of paper do you use?

JP: I paint on Fabriano cold press watercolor paper, and all of my art prints are printed on archival quality 100% cotton paper.

Credit: Laylee Emadi

CC: What inspires your work?

JP: Oh gosh, I love pulling inspiration from so many places - the ballet, interior design, travel - so hard to pick! But I’d have to say my greatest source of inspiration is travel.

It’s always so eye opening to see how different colors (and color combinations) are prominent in different parts of the world. It’s like mother nature’s own color palette!

And my constantly growing city collection was initially inspired by my travels, too. I always buy a piece of art from a local artist in each new city I visit, which sparked the idea to create map and landmark art prints for my own shop of my favorite cities.

CC: In addition to prints, you create a variety of other products. Can you tell us about the other products you create?

JP: Absolutely! While I started with art prints, I’ve loved expanding into a variety of products. Home decor products like calendars, tea towels, acrylic stir sticks, candles, and mugs. As well as stationery products like notebooks and personalized notepads and stationery sets.

It's my hope that you're able to fill your home with unique, colorful pieces that showcase your personality - or find that perfect gift to send a loved one for a special occasion or just to brighten their day! My tea towels (either by themselves or paired with a coordinating acrylic stir stick set!) and personalized stationery sets are customer favorites for cute gift ideas.

CC: We are so excited to be releasing our first exclusive collaboration with you! Today we're launching our Limited Edition ceramic chinoiserie pumpkins for fall! Can you tell our customers what makes them so special?

JP: I love releasing new collections seasonally, and each season I like to include a hand painted product. I am so excited to be collaborating with Cailíní Coastal on gorgeous chinoiserie inspired blue & white hand painted ceramic pumpkins!

We’ll have three different sizes and designs to choose from, and I love the idea of pairing them together as a trio. They will be a limited edition exclusive collaboration, and I’ll be individually hand painting each pumpkin. Each pumpkin is unique, and is truly an original work of art. It takes an hour or two to lovingly paint each pumpkin, and I love getting to add a lot of attention to detail into each brushstroke and hand painted gold metallic stem to really make each pumpkin shine.

What's wonderful is that they’re ceramic pumpkins, meaning you can bring them out year after year! They're truly heirloom pumpkins if you will - pun intended :) I hope these blue & white pumpkins help those of y’all who adore fall (but aren’t fans of traditional fall colors!) fill your homes with joy this season.

Credit: Simply Jessica Marie

CC: We also have a couple of other new releases to share with our customers...tea towels, three new prints, and a larger size of your best-selling ginger jar prints! Is there anything you want to share with our customers about these pieces?

JP: Yes! I was SO excited when Meg wanted to add my ginger jar tea towels to her shop. They are like little works of art on a tea towel! I searched high and low for a vendor who offered beautiful flour sack tea towels, and who could print my soft pastel watercolors vividly on them (which can be challenging with material like flour sack fabric). Finally, I found the most amazing vendor to partner with who cares just as much about the quality of the tea towels as I do. I can't wait for y'all to see them in person! They're the perfect way to add a touch of chinoiserie to your kitchen, and also make perfect housewarming and hostess gifts!

I'm also thrilled that Cailíní Coastal is now carrying my 16 x 20" art prints! This size is perfect for when you want to have a showstopper print on your wall. It's big enough to stand on its own, and is also a common size for many frames - making it an easy investment piece to add to your home.

The three new prints Cailíní Coastal picked up - my Hydrangeas print, Ginger Jar Lemon Tree print, and Ginger Jar Orange Tree print - are three of my favorites. The hydrangeas print is from my floral studies series, and is such a classic piece. The lemon and orange tree prints are from my new Citrus Collection, painted when I was craving a refresh in my own home with the hopes that they breathe life and joy into yours, too. They've quickly become customer favorites - everyone loves lemons!

Credit: Simply Jessica Marie

CC: Our customers love your ginger jar and Charleston prints. If you had to pick, which are your top 3 favorites?

JP: I’m so glad y’all love my art prints! I would have to say my 3 favorite prints are my Ginger Jar with Peonies print (it was my first ginger jar print, and will always hold a special spot in my heart!), the Ginger Jar with Hydrangeas print (hydrangeas are my favorite flower!), and the Rainbow Row print (I started my blog on a girls trip in Charleston with my mom - so Charleston has a special meaning both to me and to my business).

SHOP PEONY GINGER JAR WATERCOLOR PRINT

Credit: Simply Jessica Marie

SHOP GINGER JAR WITH HYDRANGEAS PRINT

Credit: Simply Jessica Marie

SHOP RAINBOW ROW PRINT