{"id":22,"date":"2026-01-15T21:16:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T21:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanjac.mycareerfocus.org\/spring-2026-volume-7-issue-1\/jeri-rae-venegas-from-community-college-student-to-luxury-brand-illustrator\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T15:09:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T15:09:18","slug":"jeri-rae-venegas-from-community-college-student-to-luxury-brand-illustrator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanjac.mycareerfocus.org\/spring-2026-volume-7-issue-1\/jeri-rae-venegas-from-community-college-student-to-luxury-brand-illustrator\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeri Rae Venegas:\u00a0From community college student to luxury brand illustrator\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jeri Rae Venegas never imagined her pet portrait paintings would lead to collaborations with luxury brands like Marc Jacobs and David Yurman.\u00a0Now based in Austin,\u00a0the San Jacinto College\u00a0alumna\u00a0balances commissioned work\u00a0with her own artistic projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0How\u00a0did\u00a0you\u00a0get started in art?<\/span><\/h3>\n

A:<\/span> I grew up mostly in Friendswood and attended San Jac for about four years, taking only a few classes at a time because of health issues and balancing work. At first, I wanted to study biology. Growing up with lupus made me deeply interested in health and medicine, but then I took an art appreciation class with Jeff McGee [South Campus fine arts department chair].\u00a0His\u00a0art\u00a0career\u00a0inspired me to pursue my own, since\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0always loved drawing\u00a0and\u00a0creating.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"San

Jeri Rae Venegas<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Q:\u00a0Describe\u00a0your education.<\/span><\/h3>\n

A:<\/span> I finished my associate degree in fine arts at San Jac in 2017, then started at the Savannah College of Art and Design that fall. I graduated from SCAD in 2020 with a degree in illustration.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: How did\u00a0San Jac prepare you for art school?<\/span><\/h3>\n

A:<\/span> San Jac gave me a solid foundation. I carried the tools and techniques I learned there with me to SCAD. Plus, taking all my basics at community college saved me a lot of money. All my credits\u00a0transferred, and I graduated from SCAD with less debt than a lot of my classmates. Having done\u00a0my basics at San Jac did leave me to take studio classes my entire time at SCAD, which was\u00a0very challenging, but I would still recommend it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: How did you build your freelance career?<\/span><\/h3>\n

A:<\/span> I started hustling while I was still at San Jac\u00a0\u2014\u00a0doing pet portraits, wedding invites, whatever people would pay me for. Instagram has been huge for getting freelance work. I had a bit of a lull in freelance work for a few years while I was\u00a0working\u00a0my graphic design\u00a0job.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0had some highs and lows, but once I decided to take the risk to go part time there, freelancing\u00a0immediately\u00a0picked up again with regular posting on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: How did your collaboration with Marc Jacobs begin, and what has that experience been like?<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Pet

Pet portrait by Jeri Rae Venegas<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

A:<\/span> Someone reached out on Instagram about my pet portraits, asking if I wanted to work for Marc Jacobs. I painted a sample bag at the Houston Galleria store, and I was in. They were launching their Bark Jacobs campaign and needed live illustrators to paint customers\u2019 pets on handbags. <\/span><\/p>\n

It was intense but rewarding. I was working 18-hour weekends at Marc Jacobs while also working 35 hours a week at my day job and driving between Austin and Houston. It led to other opportunities like working with David Yurman, Nordstrom, and AWAY Travel, and there are some coming up that I\u2019m excited to share soon.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: What\u00a0work are you doing now, and what projects would you love to work on in the future?<\/span><\/h3>\n

A:<\/span> I\u2019m still taking commissions from people who see my work on TikTok and Instagram and booking live drawing events. My apartment looks like a purse warehouse right now doing purse portraits. <\/span><\/p>\n

My own brand of greeting cards (Jeri Rae Art), clothing, stickers, prints, and such has also been taking off, and I\u2019d like to see that continue to grow. I\u2019m also interested in doing work for Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons cards and doing more cozy mystery book covers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: What\u2019s the best advice you\u2019ve received, and what would you tell students pursuing an art degree?<\/span><\/h3>\n

A: <\/span>Jeff McGee told me a long time ago to always finish everything. There\u2019s something about really seeing things all the way through that helps you figure out what works and what doesn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n

For current and future students, community college is a great place to start. It gives you solid grounding, saves you some money, and can give you some more time to figure out what you truly want. There\u2019s no need to rush a career path.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep hustling and posting your work online. Build relationships with other artists doing what you want to do. Put yourself out there and shoot your shot. You never know what opportunities might come from it!<\/span><\/p>\n

Where to find Jeri Rae Venegas:<\/span><\/h3>\n