Jessica Smith: Painting a new tomorrow
Meet Jessica Smith, a concept artist who raised money for PoP by painting — live — for 24 hours straight.
PoP campaigners are known for fundraising and supporting PoP in a multitude of creative ways. Some run marathons, others bake cookies or bike ride cross-country. For her PoP campaign, Jessica Smith chose an even more original method: she decided to paint.
Jessica, a concept artist originally from Perth, Australia, painted in support of PoP on a digital live stream for 24 straight hours! After discovering PoP online, she was deeply moved by the idea that children in developing countries aren’t able to access their artistic creativity because they lack basic school supplies; Jessica then decided she wanted to support a cause that could ultimately bring art to children’s lives.
“A lot of us first discovered drawing as kids by growing up and scribbling nonsense on pieces of paper. Realizing some kids in the world didn’t have the chance to do that struck a chord in me. That’s when I made the decision to go with Pencils of Promise.”
The idea for Jessica to hold a 24 hour live-stream painting session stemmed from watching video gamers live-stream for charity.
“Seeing the way they brought their community together and how everyone pitched in while supporting the event made me want to do something similar. The energy was so positive and really inspiring.”
Armed with an idea, Jessica sought to challenge herself and set a goal of creating 4 paintings in the 24 hour period. She recorded the entire live stream and her commentary in three videos shows the lengthy creative process. In the end, Jessica created 3 extended paintings and 12 speed paintings.
With the help of her supporters, Jessica surpassed her fundraising goal and raised $1,050 for PoP during the live-stream, enough to support 42 students for an entire school year! After the success of the her first campaign, she hopes to do more live-streams for charity in the future. While it’s certainly a lot of hours to paint, she believes the ability to bring people together to support a common cause is totally worth it.
We love hearing about the creative ways our supporters have combined their daily passions with love for PoP, and Jessica is a perfect example. Her motto, which helped keep her focused and dedicated throughout 24 straight hours of painting, is a testament to how meaningful it can be to give back while doing something important to you:
“Do what you love. Keep doing it, no matter what anyone else says. Then share it with the world.”
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Our PoP family is always growing. We’d love for you to join us.
Visit Jessica’s campaign page:
