The Highest Compliment is a Strong Reaction for Jackie
‘I never want to shield people from the darker topics in my art. It’s important that they see the light and dark elements together, so they can fully appreciate them both.‘
-How do you think your background in psychology has influenced the art that you create?
That’s a great question! I think my art is influenced by psychology on multiple levels. Studying psychology gives me the language to understand certain human behaviours and patterns, which in turn allows me to be more targeted in my artistic process. In addition, having the privilege of interacting with patients adds weight and context to the things you read about in books.
At the same time, I do think all true art contains an element of psychology, whether the creator herself is aware of it or not! This is where personal lived experience comes into play. Even as a child, I was fascinated by the human mind, even if I didn’t have a name for it at the time. And I think that interest has extended into my art. Lately, I’ve tried to follow that interest even more, and over the past 2 years, I feel like I’ve created my most authentic art to date.
These days, my pieces almost always start with a personal memory, dream, or emotion. As a result, I end up drawing a lot of humanoid forms, especially faces and eyes, but really I like any shape or colour that evokes strong emotion.
– As an artist that has dabbled in various art styles, which of the most recent ones do you prefer the most and why?
I hope my art style continues to evolve with time, because I feel like it reflects my development as an artist and also my philosophy as a person. When I was a young artist, I loved cartoons and comics and I enjoyed creating new worlds and characters. I focused on clean lines and bright colours, which were reflective of my idealistic and naive worldview as a young person.
As I got older and had more life experience, that changed. I’ve always been kind of drawn to dark art and horror, but I leaned into it more as an adult. I wanted to convey the complicated and difficult emotions I was struggling with. I feel like I had a major breakthrough when I tried to combine the two styles – the dark and complex with the bright and simple ‐ because this is where I find myself in my life right now as I try to reconcile these two halves of my psyche.
I also think that it has resulted in some of my most visually compelling work this year. At the intersection of the light and the dark is where all the interesting things in life happen!
– Which of your pieces do you think is the most complex, considering the creative process and the message it communicates?
I actually think that it is one of the first serious pieces I made in 2025, titled “Metamorphosis.” The picture challenged me in a technical sense and it really expanded my skill set. But really, I am most pleased with the psychological complexity of the piece. I must have been in some sort of flow state during the process, because I wasn’t consciously aware why I was drawing it. It was only months later that I realized that it perfectly encapsulated what I was going through in my life at that time.
There’s a lot of big emotions and heavy symbolism in the picture, but it’s funny because I wasn’t feeling it on a conscious level. I think that’s why I’m so satisfied with it now, because I didn’t overthink it and just let it flow through me.
– Do you think delirium is something that can be accurately captured in art?
I love this question!
Medically speaking, delirium is a rapid-onset, fluctuating state of mind, indicating that something in the brain has gone very wrong. The victim becomes very confused and can experience hallucinations or delusions. It is a frightening thing to experience personally or witness in someone else. I think that expressing this in art is possible but would be difficult.
I tried to depict delirium to some extent in my piece “Delight to Delirium,” which is partially inspired by the Sandman characters. In the comics, the character Delight transforms into Delirium, so I attempted to capture the moment of transfiguration by contrasting a calm and poised figure with absolute chaos and mayhem. The author of the original character, Neil Gaiman, smartly intended for Delirium’s appearance to be wild, eccentric, and constantly changing.
–How do people react to your art? You have a very impactful style.
People have all sorts of reactions! I think the highest compliment is when someone has a strong emotional reaction, good or bad. Some people find the art to be pretty, others a little gross. I think one of the most common reactions is something like “it’s creepy, but cute!” or “it’s disturbing, but I kind of like it.”
I never want to shield people from the darker topics in my art. It’s important that they see the light and dark elements together, so they can fully appreciate them both.
-There is a unique way in which you show your message in your art. Is there an artist who influenced you?
I find inspiration from a lot of different artists. There are so many great surrealist artists, with H.R. Giger and Polish painter Beksiński among some of my favourites.
In addition, I think a lot of people tend to overlook the importance of cartoonists and comic artists, which is a shame because cartoons can create such an incredible emotional impact through “simple” shapes and exaggeration. Japanese animation is actually very good at this. Akira Toriyama, the creator of “Dragon Ball Z,” was a master of character design and captivated me as a child with his storytelling. I love the “Hellboy” comics by Mike Mignola for its dark topics and sense of humour. I deeply admire the unique way in which he conveys complex messages with a minimalist style.
– We are living in such a loud world these days. Noise comes in various forms and from multiple sources. How do you accommodate art in today’s environment? When and where would you prefer to create?
I think that blocking out distraction is becoming harder and harder in today’s world, but I believe that if you really love something, you’ll make time for it. Medical school and powerlifting taught me how to use sheer grit and discipline, but it’s completely different when you work for something you have a genuine passion for. I often make art after long work days, not because I have to, but because I desperately want to.
In terms of location, I can pretty much work anywhere. In fact, I don’t have a lot of space right now, so I work out of a desk in a closet! Being an artist is a path that you have to walk alone, though. I don’t mind listening to a podcast in the background or working next to someone, but I usually need to be alone with my thoughts while I work.
The biggest barrier for me is not convincing myself to do art. In fact, it’s the opposite. I grew up thinking that art was frivolous and impractical, and in a lot of ways, my inner voice still tells me that. Sometimes I feel like a dog right before a race, visibly energetic and eager to sprint down the track, but I am also the trainer holding tightly to the leash, afraid to fully let go.
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