North-east artist in high demand
A North-east artist picked up her brushes just over two years ago after a number of years away from painting and has quickly established herself as one of the region’s top artists.
Jacky Niven, of Newtonhill was a painter in her youth but, in her words, “had to get a proper job”.
With work and other commitments taking precedence, Jacky could not find time to paint before, but two years ago, a gift of a painting box from her now husband inspired her to rekindle her love with art.
In Junelast year, Jacky started her business Art By Jax and is now one of the most in-demand artists in the North-east.
Jacky paints a variety of subjects including Scottish wildlife and agricultural scenes. One of her chosen subjects is puffins and at the Aberdeen Country Fair she is often lovingly referred to as: “The Puffin Lady.”
As well as holding a stall at the monthly Country Fair in Belmont Street, Jacky is now opening her studio to the public as part of the North East Open Studios (NEOS) initiative.
NEOS kicked off last weekend and Jacky is keen to invite fellow artists as well as those who merely love art into her studio to see her works and how she creates them.
One of Jacky’s most popular options is her ‘Pet Portraits’. These works are always very popular as gifts, and sees Jacky create stunning portraits of pets - be it cats and dogs or even horses - for their owners to cherish.
The portraits can be created by sending Jacky a selection of photos for your pet and she regularly updates customers on the work to ensure they are happy with the end product.
The portraits prove popular at Christmas and Jacky stresses that orders should be placed as soon as possible in time for the festive season.
One might imagine that holding a stall, creating pet portraits and throwing open the doors of her studio would be enough but Jacky also displays her work in the Stonehaven Library.
To find out more about Art by Jax or to arrange a visit through the NEOS event, visit www.art-by-jax.co.uk or call Jacky.
Aberdeen Independent
Date: 20/09/2007
