Painting Her Path: In Conversation with Jillian Hagadorn
Hagadorn working in her studio
Photo by Maddy B
Jillian Hagadorn has carved out an artistic space for herself in Syracuse, New York, while on her new journey with Devon Vander Voort Art Advisory. In her quaint, just-moved-in studio, decorated with paintbrushes and easels engulfed in color and natural light, she describes how LVV has given her a chance to fully focus on her passion—making art. Safeguarding her creativity is vital to her, which led her to seeking out an art advisor in the first place. There were always concerns she wouldn’t be taken seriously as an artist, but she explains that working with Devon Vander Voort has shown her there are people she can successfully talk to and connect with about her artistic practice and ambitions. “There is something there that you can accomplish together,” she says.
Hagadorn describes herself as a more subject matter artist than a medium one. She is a painter with a focus on portraits and figures and is heavily inspired by illustration, as she excelled at drawing growing up. She later found her proper niche in acrylic painting. Hagadorn exclusively focuses on two-dimensional pieces and tends to paint better when she thinks in terms of single-framed images. However, she is open to expressing her creativity in all different ways and has done work ranging from children’s book illustrations to dance to film.
Since earning her degree at Alfred University, Hagadon resides in Syracuse. She has found projects there, such as mural painting, and immersed herself in communities of people who are just as serious and passionate about art as she is. However, it wasn’t always an easy decision to stay. “Syracuse’s largest export is talent in young people,” she says. “We have an abundance of creative people, but we needed a space to be cultivated where we could all meet together.” The community, Candlelight Collective, has helped her find this space with other artists in the area, which she found by being commissioned to create posters for their events.
Since meeting LVV, Hagadorn has learned to put herself out there more as an artist. “It is helpful to hear how someone else markets you,” she says. “It’s hard to talk about yourself and your work. I’m not always able to separate myself.” She is thrilled to have a team behind her who are rooting for her and are equally excited about her work. LVV has helped organize her catalog of works and documents into one place and opened opportunities to sell herself as an artist. “The momentum was there,” Hagadorn says, and she credits much of her recent success due to this rolling momentum LVV ignited. The LVV team are also peers she could call to get advice and direction on the emotional aspects of having an art career since they are sensitive and understanding of artists’ needs.
Hagadorn’s Exhibition at Hope Cafe
Hagadorn currently has an exhibition on view at Hope Cafe in Syracuse organized by LVV. She discussed her thought process when choosing the seven paintings that would be on display— “Those pieces really need to be living with you in that space.” She selected works that would not clash with the environment, as well as invite people to sit with them. While she views herself as a subject matter artist, Hagadorn says she knew the pieces at the cafe needed to be visually and stylistically relaxing regardless. There, she interpreted them as single-panel comics that start with a question, sensation, or feeling with no real answer to it.
Hagadorn has been drawn to the idea of narrative in her works—a theme she sees continuing and expanding on in her later exhibitions. She describes her pieces as diaristic and channeling her own life story. Leaning into to this narrative comes easy to her. “It is a natural way in how we can share experiences—to storybook them out in a way,” she says. Playing with color in her paintings enriches the narrative, along with adding an aspect of surrealism to her works. “I think it’s universally understood, whether you realize it or not, that color really changes an emotion. I have to do very little with the subject matter in trying to push a narrative compared to as I do with the color. I find it an intuitive way to push a story.” However, she believes having fun and putting care into what you are doing as an artist is universally felt the strongest. At Hope Cafe, Hagadorn enjoyed the audience participation surrounding her pieces and discussing her work with them. People there had varying levels of artistic interests and found many ways to interpret a piece.
Hagadorn is amid planning a fall exhibition with LVV. She smiles and says her work is flowing in a “firehose” way. She has many concepts for the show and sees her newly finished works in a variety of unconventional spaces. “Everything is on the table,” she says. Following the theme of narrative, Hagadorn wants the focus to be the idea of succession. She explains that LVV has given her a chance to find places that let her express her creativity, and she knows it will be no different for the fall exhibition.
See more of Hagadorn’s work here: @jillianhagadorn
