Recently we sat down with successful visual artist and New York transplant Jackie Stanton who’s currently busy creating pieces she will display in the upcoming exhibit: Uncensored at Cella Gallery; Opening Reception Friday, June 13th 7-10 PM.

NoHo E-News: Your work is so visceral and striking. What is your process or style?

Jackie Stanton: It's the Jackie Stanton style. I suppose it could be described as a collaged look using silk-screens and my special paint combined with a roughly textured plaster on canvas. My imagery tends towards my obsessions, both in popular culture and in my personal life.

NoHo: It’s dynamic work. How long have you been doing this particular style of silk-screening?

JS: I've developed this present one over the last six years. It has many possibilities.

NoHo: How important is formal training?

JS: I don't know if it's important to others, but speaking for myself it was very critical to my evolution.

NoHo: Where did you train?

JS: I spent four years at Rhode Island School of Design and was exposed to many gifted fellow students as well as dedicated teachers.

NoHo: What was school like for you?

JS: It was a high-pressure environment and I had to learn quickly. Although I knew at an early age I was a painter, college only confirmed it.

NoHo: It’s laudable that making art is your primary source of income. How hard is it to make a living as an artist?

JS: It is extremely difficult to make all your money from selling art. Very few painters make their living that way. Most have to take a job of some kind, or have another source of income. Only the most industrious and talented ones can live off their art.

NoHo: What advice do you have for artists who want to make it a career?

JS: I've discovered a few tricks of the trade, such as working quickly and making use of opportunities as they arise. A painter can't be too reluctant to part with her paintings even if the price feels too low. Make it, sell it, and move it along.

NoHo: How do you find galleries that are interested in exhibiting your work?

JS: The more I paint, the more my works get around, and they often find me as a result. It's best if a gallery contacts me rather than the other way around.

NoHo: Do you have an agent?

JS: Writers and actors have agents; painters have dealers. It's important to have a good dealer, but not strictly necessary. Sometimes dealers are big on promises, but short on performance. An artist shouldn't be afraid to make new connections when the old ones are going nowhere.

NoHo: What’s the best way to sell a painting?

JS: The artist must be as original and imaginative in selling her work as she is in painting it. I sell to individuals that discover me my through my web site, also designer showrooms, hip furniture stores, coffeehouses, group shows.

NoHo: Okay this is probably a loaded question you being from Jersey and all, but I have to ask. For artists, which is the better scene: New York? Or L.A.?

JS: New York loved me socially, but was indifferent to my paintings. Los Angeles ignores me socially, but buys my art. Nowhere is perfect.

NoHo: Very diplomatic answer. What’s more important, selling your work? Or being known as an “artist”?

JS: I prefer to be accepted as an artist, even if it means staying at home with my beloved beagle Brando on the weekends and watching television.

Uncensored exhibit runs from June 13th- July 18th at Cella Gallery: 5229 Lankershim Blvd. For more information and to view Jackie Stanton’s work, go to: www.cellagallery.com