At Jackson’s, we love to collaborate with artists. In this article, we highlight the different ways we partner with and support artists, from Jackson’s Art Prize and online art gallery to blog articles, films, and our social media community.
How We Collaborate With Artists
Jackson’s Art Blog
Clare McNamara, Blog Editor
With contributions from professional artists, the Jackson’s Team publish weekly posts on Jackson’s Art Blog based around what’s important for painters and makers. Whether it’s learning how to make your own paints, discovering a new art material from one of our artist reviews, or delving into art history with articles like Recreating Artist’s Palettes, there is something for everyone.
Launched in February 2022, our Inside The Sketchbook series takes a look inside artists’ sketchbooks where they share their techniques, favourite materials, and creative processes. Every artist brings their own unique approach. Artist and President of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Abebanji Alade uses his sketchbooks as “a medium to practice, to train my draughtsmanship and to make me better at drawing skills”. Multidisciplinary artist and author, Maliha Abidi describes her sketchbooks as “not just tools for jotting down ideas; they are companions that capture my rawest thoughts and translate them into finished masterpieces.” So far, over 30 artists have taken part and we are excited to invite many more.
The Jackson’s Studio
Hayley Connaughton, Head of Content
The Jackson’s Studio was built as a collaborative space to invite artists and suppliers to share their stories. Our Studio is fully functioning and fully stocked with an array of fine art materials to test and review. This is where our films are lovingly created by the Jackson’s Team.
Jackson’s In-House Films
Our In Conversation series invites suppliers and artists from our community to share their stories. Our first film launched in June 2021 with Michael Harding. Michael shared his journey as a paint maker, revealed his favourite pigments, and expressed why the fat-over-lean rule is so important in oil painting. We’ve had the pleasure of hosting many suppliers including Markus Baumgart from Schmincke, David Coles from Langridge, Anne-Sylvie Godeau from Lutea, Roman Szmal, Simon Frisby from Etchr, Carole Hübscher and Eric Vitus from Caran d’Ache, John Cogley from Daniel Smith, and many more.
Our Guide To series, launched in 2022, encourages anyone new to a specific medium on how to get started with useful insider tips. Artist and printmaker Lisa Takahashi explains everything needed to get started in watercolour, oil, plein air painting, and masking fluid whilst our friends at Cranfield, Michael Craine and Paul Lee discuss toxicology.
Our latest series, Artist Insights began in October 2023, as a way for professional and experienced artists to share their wisdom and knowledge. Georgina Potter, a leading plein air painter, Ann Witheridge, artist and founder of London Fine Art Studios and Kayoon Anderson, a Korean-British painter and member of the Contemporary British Portrait Painters have joined us so far.
Our short films are exclusive to our social media channels. Pigment Stories exposes the secrets of pigments such as Prussian Blue, Venetian Red, and Green Earth by putting artist pigments into a historical context. Art Prompts, launched in 2020 during lockdown, were originally created to spark inspiration, including practical drawing and painting exercises, as well as mindful prompts for reflection. Now in film format, this series is available on our various social media channels.
On Location Films
As well as filming in the Jackson’s Studio, our team love to travel to visit suppliers in their factories and artists in their studios.
Our On Location series reveals how some of our most loved art materials are made, along with insights into manufacturers’ working methods. The series began in August 2019 with Jackson’s Professional Oil Paint, and we have since visited factories such as Schmincke in Germany, and smaller establishments such as Lutea’s ‘micro-laboratory’ in Belgium. We take great pleasure in sharing how materials like Willow Coates charcoal and Somerset paper make their way from field to studio.
Since 2019 we’ve visited artists in their studios. In the Studio is a fly-on-the-wall experience inside artists’ studios to learn about the materials they use and their unique processes, alongside Jackson’s Art Prize interviews with the winners of our annual competition, exploring their studios, chatting about their body of work and artistic journey, and how it felt to win First Prize.
Jackson’s Art Prize and Gallery
Josephine Zentner, Art Prize and Gallery Coordinator
Born out of a desire to celebrate the talented artists in the Jackson’s art community, the competition began in 2016 and received just over 2,000 entries. Since then, in 2024, Jackson’s Art Prize received over 15,000 entries from 117 countries around the world and continues to platform artists of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds on an international stage.
As one of the most affordable fine art competitions to enter, with prizes including a group exhibition of work in central London as well as up to £5,000 cash and £2,000 in Jackson’s art materials, the competition evolves year after year to improve the opportunities and support provided to participating artists.
We are delighted to have collaborated with the Affordable Art Fair for five years running to showcase and sell a selection of work. In addition to this, we hold an independent exhibition at Bankside Gallery, where we are able to invite the entire shortlist to exhibit in central London, just a stone’s throw from the Tate Modern.
Jackson’s Art Prize has so far awarded over £92k in prize money and longlisted a total of 3,523 works of art. We are proud to continue working with many of these fantastic artists in different areas of collaboration on the blog, social media, gallery, film content, and more.
In 2023, we set up Jackson’s online art gallery– a platform which promotes and sells the artworks of Jackson’s Art Prize shortlisted artists to national and international buyers.
Now approaching the tenth year of the competition, we look forward to working with even more of the world’s most exciting contemporary artists.
Image courtesy of Artist Support Pledge by Mark Hinton
Partnerships
Christine Kent, Community Coordinator
Supporting like-minded ventures that align with our values, our Partnership Program works with artists, galleries, charities, art programs, and organisations alike. We focus on educating artists in materials knowledge by supporting their creativity and sharing this with the wider community. These partnerships allow us to build a creative community of support for artists, through social channels, our specialist blog, and interviews with artists and makers.
Our Partnership Programs support like-minded ventures that align with our values. Partnerships to date have included galleries, charities, art programs, and more.
Examples of organisations we have partnered with:
- As of February 2024, we have planted over 1800 trees with Trees for Life – a conservation charity dedicated to revitalising wild forests in the Scottish Highlands – to offset the environmental cost of producing our catalogues and printed publications.
- Artist Support Pledge is a culture and economy in support of artists and makers, now a global movement, created by artist Matthew Burrows in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, using Instagram. At the start of 2023, the Jackson’s Award was introduced; participants are selected weekly to win a Jackson’s Art Voucher.
- We are lead sponsors of Bankside Gallery’s International Original Print Competition – an open submission exhibition established by the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers that celebrates the best in all forms of contemporary printmaking.
We also support teachers and students on their creative pathways, with our Student Program and Teacher Program.
Artists & Workshops Page
Our Artists & Workshops page features a collection of profiles, resources, and product recommendations from talented creatives who share their expertise across various artistic disciplines.
Jackson’s Affiliates
Jackson’s Affiliate Program is designed for artists, art educators, art demonstrators, art influencers, art groups, and art companies. Artists who have a website, blog, or social media account with a readership who may be interested in purchasing art supplies, can earn a commission for anyone who completes a transaction.
We use a specialised affiliate platform, AWIN. Commission rates begin at 5% and can rise to 10%, depending on performance.
Social Media
Emily Harman, Social Media Coordinator
Our social media platforms are designed to communicate with our community and to share projects and collaborations as well as offers, promotions, and giveaways.
Jackson’s Community
We created Jackson’s Facebook Groups to bring together an art community for those who love to paint, draw, or print. By joining our Facebook Groups artists can share their artworks, ask their fellow artists for materials advice and techniques, as well as take part in our exclusive Facebook group giveaways. Since we started the groups in October 2021, we have had over 30k members join and they grow more and more every day!
Our Jackson’s Shops in Dalston and Gloucester have their own Instagram accounts which means UK customers local to these shops can stay in the loop with shop promotions and upcoming workshops. Whether artists are seeking guidance, have a technical question, looking for gift inspiration, or fancy a free coffee, our friendly staff are on hand to assist.
Giveaways
Every month we launch a #ForThoseWhoLoveToPaint monthly giveaway on Instagram and Facebook which offers our followers the opportunity to win some fantastic prizes, from sets of Unison Colour Soft Pastels and Pith Sketchbooks to Roman Szmal Watercolour Sets and Pro Arte Brushes. To be in the chance to win our followers create an artwork using the #ForThoseWhoLoveToPaint hashtag.
Our weekly giveaways are also ones to watch as the prizes are even bigger, ranging from a Sennelier Oil Stick Wooden Box Set of 36 to the full range of 135 Michael Harding Watercolours.
Stay up to date with the Jackson’s community. Follow us on social media and sign up to our newsletter.
Further Reading
Interview With Gary Thompson, Director of Jackson’s Art Supplies
Two Artists Test Jackson’s Premium Stretched Linen Canvas
Meet Andrew Torr, Winner of Jackson’s Art Prize 2024
Artist Insights: Gemma Berenguer
Shop Art Materials on jacksonsart.com
2 thoughts on “How We Collaborate With Artists”
Good work on the blog. I look at it often and
enjoy the articles very much.
Thanks for letting us know you enjoy it!
Comments are closed.