Art, Sobriety, and Giving Back

Painter finds peace through creating, moves to Preston Hollow

For Jamie Walters, who recently moved from Uptown with her husband, Rupert, into their Preston Hollow dream home, art is about helping others as well as creative self-expression.

“My dad was an artist,” Jamie said, calling him her most important inspiration. “I’ve always loved art, but it wasn’t something I knew I could do. When I was forty, I thought, ‘I’m going to try it.’” 

Inquiries came after she donated art for a Hurricane Harvey relief benefit auction at Kettle Art in Deep Ellum, and she began exhibiting and selling at the gallery.

“Part of my purpose was for the art to be attainable,” she said. “I know what it’s like not to be able to afford original art.”

Her works range in price for people of varying economic strata and are sometimes sold using a particularly personal exhibition technique.

“Early on, I started doing ‘art on the move’ appointments,” Jamie said. “I load up about a dozen pieces in my car — all sizes, all colors — drive them to your home, then we place it. It’s a way to bring art to people that didn’t know they could afford it and didn’t know that Dallas had such accessible art. It’s been a game-changer for me.”

Jamie contends it’s never too late to try new things. “I’ve been sober now over 13 years, and that’s a big part of my journey. Without that personal, spiritual transformation, the courage to try something new probably wouldn’t have happened.”

“It also represents that light at the end of the tunnel if you’re struggling. But it’s also the light you get to live in after you’ve overcome something.”

Don’t look for her signature on the front of her paintings.

“I sign the back of my work, because most of it can hang any way you want depending on what stage of life or home design that you’re in,” Jamie said.

Outside of art, Jamie has maintained another career in the finance/revenue cycle side of healthcare, including as chief client officer at Janus Health and Texas Lone Star president for Healthcare Financial Management Association. 

“It’s funny, on Monday my team can tell when I’ve been painting all weekend,” she said. “It just gives me a chance to clear my brain.”

She has donated her work for charitable silent auctions such as those held by Magdalen House, Cattle Baron’s Ball, Dallas 24 Hour Club, and Chef to the Shelters. 

“I feel that you’ve got to give it away to keep it. And it opens you up to a whole other group of people for exposure to your art.”

She’s also excited about the opportunities that come with her new neighborhood. “It was my dream to live in this area and have a new, beautiful modern place in the Preston Hollow, and I got it.”

What’s next?

“I’ll do more campaigns to educate all of these amazing people moving here about the Dallas art scene,” she said. “I’m going to continue to donate to organizations that have impacted my life. For me, it’s about being of service through the art.”