Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Pomeranz.
Hi Jamie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve been an independent creative hustler for virtually my entire adult life. In my 20s, after realizing I wasn’t built for cubicals and fluorescent lighting, I quit my marketing job and completed a program at The International Center of Photography in NYC. You’d think I went into photography after that, right? Nope. I took the Photoshop and graphic design skills I learned at ICP and started a tee shirt brand under the name Devils May Care, which is still the name I put my art out under today.
I ran DMC 24/7 for almost ten years. Selling shirts in street markets three days a week, handling all production, marketing, online/retail sales, etc. the rest of the time. I loved the freedom that owning my own company gave me (even if it meant working twice the hours of many of my friends), but by the time I decided to have kids, I was really burnt out, and I took a break to focus on my family.
But that focus was hard for me, and I began to feel like I had lost a huge part of myself. One night, when I was particularly down, a bestie of mine, who is also an amazing creative, asked me if I wanted to have a “wine and whine” night. She brought over something I had never heard of called alcohol inks for us to play with, and I immediately fell in love. There was something completely hypnotic about the way the colors flowed and blended. You were in control of the medium to a degree, but it was also chaotic and unpredictable. I found it so therapeutic. I joked to her that I was going to start posting my work online and mayyybe one day someone would send me free art supplies, but at that point, I REALLY needed something for MYSELF, so I said f*ck it and actually did it.
I started taking a little time daily to both create and post my journey learning my new favorite medium and prioritizing the creative experience over the end result. Even now, you can scroll down on my feed to my very first alcohol ink piece. I didn’t pretend to be an expert. I shared my successes and failures. I began to form an online community, genuinely enjoying both teaching and learning with other artists all over the world. The following started building organically and a few years later, I have over 100k followers across platforms, licensing deals, paid content creation opportunities, affiliate deals with art supply companies, and of course, I get offered free art supplies.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I don’t think building any business can be a completely smooth road, but my previous experience running a company certainly laid down the necessary foundation to make it smoother. Having a Jane of all trades background allowed me to jump the learning curve when it came to the logistical business needs, but I have not been immune to one of the biggest challenges that all influencers face- the changing algorithm and constantly adapting our content to make the social media platforms happy. The landscape is always changing and pushing new features. It’s important to be adaptable and evolve with them or your content can easily slip into an unseen void.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
A little less than six months into my alcohol ink journey, I created a new technique to paint realistic roses by dropping ink onto my paper and using a hairdryer to spread it out. I time-lapsed this process for my followers, and the videos blew up. This technique was a big break for me and to this day is not only what I’m best known for but what generates the most revenue for me (through selling originals, teaching the technique, and licensing the finished pieces to be sold in big box stores like Target and Wayfair.) I’m extremely proud of the butterfly effect I’ve had on the fluid art community sharing this technique, but I don’t think it’s the only thing that sets me apart from other social media artists. Most experts will advise you to niche down as much as possible, but I medium hop completely unapologetically. Being a factory and only doing one thing would never work for me. I believe in artistic experimentation and creative evolution. So that’s my niche. Making whatever I want and sharing the good and the bad of that journey. I will forever continue to expand my skill set so that when I have a wacky idea, I can reach into my creative toolbox and execute it using any medium that gets me there.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I love expanding my creative community and supporting other artists. If you would like to collaborate with me, I can be reached on all the social media platforms under the handle @devilsmaycare or emailed at [email protected]
Original art and lessons can be purchased through https://devilsmaycare.com/
Contact Info:
- Website: https://devilsmaycare.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/devilsmaycare
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DevilsMayCare
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiepomernaz
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@devilsmaycare?si=dV8aIvNjVOyJFN2Y
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@devilsmaycare
Image Credits
Photo credit: Jamie Pomeranz aka Devils May Care
