Artist Jesstyne Johnson and WarPaint Watercolors

Written By Editors

I am very happy to introduce Jesstyne, a talented artist I recently met at a local fair. Her booth was so welcoming that I just had to step inside and learn more about her business, WarPaint. Below she shares her ideas and her art.

Can you briefly describe what your business does?

At WarPaint we fight the darkness by creating light.

Creativity lives within all of us- letting it out allows us to create a difference in the world around us. I create watercolor paintings and teach others how to create lots of different things in order to inspire and bring unique light into this world.

Where did the idea come from?

I have always been creative. Part of why I sell is that I won’t stop creating, and things start to pile up. A bigger part is that this is what I was designed to do. Something comes alive in me, and in others, when we pick up a paintbrush or pencil. I love creating pieces that spark wonder, innocence, and child likeness, and inspiring others to tap into the creativity inside of themselves.

Original water color paintings by Jesstyne.

Can you describe your typical work day?

I currently work from home. I start most mornings by connecting with the Lord through gratitude, worship, and Bible reading. Then I get to work painting, emailing, filming for social media, or doing shows. My creative space is sort of all over the house. We have plans to build out a studio in one of the spare bedrooms, but we live in a fixer-upper and a couple of the other rooms need our attention first. Right now it’s just my husband and me, but I dream of the day I can pay someone else to run the back-end stuff like social media and marketing.

What is your best-selling product?

So far my best-selling products have been vinyl stickers. I’ve recently started to focus my attention on watercolors- for years I’ve been all over the place trying to sell too many different kinds of things. The stickers still sell pretty well at around $3 a piece, and I’ve done well with sets of painted greeting cards ($30 per set). I’ve recently ordered some prints of my paintings and am looking forward to seeing how those sell in person. The goal is to have original artwork being my best-selling item.

What sets your business apart from the competition?

I would say my style is unique. I use high-quality materials, like most other serious artists. I offer various price point items. I’m finding my voice in painting, and have only just begun this journey (again), so I look forward to finding other ways to be unique and set apart. I’ve got some ideas brewing.

One of the pieces that instantly caught my eye in Jesstyne’s booth.

How is social media important to your business?

I have been working to figure out how to post across every platform I can think of in a matter of minutes. I use one app to create my videos, then I take those and post them across Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, and YouTube. I’m still new to the social media marketing game so I’m testing to see what types of videos and which platforms bring in the most business.

What are your thoughts on working with computers?

I am a bit all over the place with computers. I use my iPad and my husband’s old laptop mostly. I scan my images to the computer in a high dpi, then put them on google drive, download them to my laptop to make any necessary edits with the Lightroom app, then upload them to iprintfromhome.com to order my prints.

What do you think about outsourcing work?

I manage everything- website, social media, bookkeeping, computers. I suppose it’s not a terrible thing to learn all these skills, but as soon as I can afford to, I’d like to outsource all of this type of thing and stick to painting. I’ve heard some people having success using AI, but I’m not a fan of it.

The vinyl stickers are a big seller for Jesstyne.

How do you manage customer retention and/or Email mailing lists?

Email marketing is definitely something that’s on my to-do list…right after I get a better routine with social media. I tried Hootsuite but realized there’s no “free” version, so I went with Buffer to help with social media posts. The jury’s still out on whether I will continue to use it. It does seem like it could be helpful, but there’s a learning curve with that as well. Too many learning curves at one time can definitely feel overwhelming.

Pros so far for Buffer have been being able to create multiple posts at a time across 3 platforms for free, being able to schedule a specific date and time for each post, and I think there’s a time optimization feature that helps figure out the best time to post (I don’t really understand that part yet). Cons have been I want to use more than 3 platforms and am not sure it would be worth it to pay for the upgrade in order to do so. I know I will have to create different kinds of videos for Instagram/Facebook/TikTok than I do for YouTube, so potentially using Buffer just to help manage the first three could be worth it.

I have found it’s better to create the video with a completely different app because if you take a video you created on Instagram & don’t finagle the watermark off, TikTok will flag it and no one will see it. And vice versa. I use an app called VideoLeap. It has a ton of features and even lets you put music into the videos so you don’t have to go find it on all the other platforms.

How do you balance work and personal time?

Balance can definitely be hard to find, especially when you’re just starting out. I’ve found what works best for me is treating this like any other business- I set hours for myself to work within, and then when those hours are up I can do other things. I build things into my work schedule like learning a new technique or following along a YouTube tutorial. I have a journal that I’ve designed that has been immensely helpful in keeping me on track called The Bullet Journal that I have listed on Amazon.

What are your thoughts regarding the environment, social issues, and being a partner to the community?

I have actually struggled a lot with this one. I would love to source US made/small business materials more often, but haven’t found a lot of what I need. What I have found has been significantly more expensive to the point where I can’t afford to buy from them yet. My husband is a woodworker and does 3D printing, and is starting to make some of my frames, which has been really fun.

Jesstyne also does commissioned pieces as well as large indoor murals.

What is your outlook for the future?

My thoughts on the art industry are that there’s room for everyone. I want everyone who wants to create to be inspired to do so. And I want to be a part of that, whether through videos, in-person teaching, or through my own paintings.

My growth plan as of right now includes figuring out how to get in front of the people my work is designed for and teaching through YouTube. I will have a studio space one day where I can display and sell my pieces, as well as teach classes to people of all ages. Success to me would mean selling, teaching, and doing it all with and for the Lord.

Do you have any final thoughts for other business owners?

If you’re just starting out, don’t give up. Find someone who is successful in the industry you want to grow in and learn from them. If you’re into art, Matt Tommey has a lot of really good resources for growing your business. If you want to learn new techniques on how to paint, find an artist you like on Youtube. Some of my favorites so far have been Ellen Crimi-Trent, Peter Sheeler, and deWinton Paper on YouTube. 

How to find Jesstyne and WarPaint online:

Editors
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