For Realtor Jenn Thatcher, and agent with Caine Premier Properties, a desire to better stage a client’s home lead to an additional, unexpected path as an artist.
“Three years ago I was staging a home and it didn’t have very much on the walls and I had a huge blank canvas at my house, so I went home and painted a painting for the home,” Thatcher said. “People kept coming through the house and they weren’t making an offer on the house but they were asking about the art.”
One thing led to another, and Thatcher soon had so much work as an artist, it was her new focus.
“After many, many calls about where to buy that art, I posted it online and it sold within 30 seconds with a line of about 25 people who wanted it. I thought, ‘maybe I’ll just do another one,’” she said. “That first year, I sold 200 paintings — this has been a crazy, complete surprise and blessing.”
This was a talent she didn’t know she had, discovered out of necessity.
“I’ve never taken an art class, so I didn’t even know I could do this, but I wasn’t intimidated because I knew I had to make my client’s house better and I thought anything is better than nothing,” she said.
Thatcher still works as an agent, staging every home fully, using her own things.
“I always put my art in the houses I’m selling,” she said. “I take a very few select listings and I fully stage them not just with my art, but with furniture, and it makes then really different and special and they always sell for top dollar.”
Thatcher started with acrylic, and branched off into oil, watercolor, even spray paint.
“Many of my pieces have every different type of paint on them to provide a lot of texture and the depth of the color varies based on the paints,” she said. “I don’t really have an inspiration other than I love design and I paint things I love and colors I love and I do so many different styles of abstract.”
In 2016, Thatcher says her goal is to give back, and continue to grow her business and find ways to help people through art.
“I’m currently working with a campaign with A21, an organization that’s working to end human trafficking — I’m selling a certain print with 100 percent of the proceeds going to them,” she said. “I want to make a difference not just for my family, but for others.”
