Ali’s Story

Ali Jacobs has been working as a full-time professional artist since 2012, and painting murals professionally since 2014, but has been an artist her entire life. She started taking non-credited painting classes at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore throughout high school, then ultimately received a scholarship for undergraduate studies at MICA, where she majored in painting.

At the young age of 24, she co-founded t.c. studios arts & entertainment®, a regional company, with a brick-and-mortar headquarters in Ocean City, Maryland. For nearly a decade, it has become a successful platform for working artists, and currently contracts 7 talented individuals across the region. She has also developed and trademarked the Paint Your Pet® brand. Nothing great comes easy - her company was started in a garage and has been one of the most difficult yet rewarding journeys of her life. Over last decade, her company has sponsored various public art projects, including donating to and painting utility box murals through the Painted Utility Box Program, sponsored by the Ocean City Development Corporation’s (OCDC) Public Art Program. She has led organizations like the Young Professionals of the Chamber of Commerce, and the Lioness Club through painting utility boxes. Similarly, she has led the community through a public art piece sponsored by Worcester County. Through the OCDC, Ali has also been commissioned to paint other public art murals, and in 2018, was awarded the OCDC’s Organizational Award for those efforts. During that same year, she was awarded a Key to the City (Ocean City) for Volunteerism and serving the city (in various ways) - an award which was accompanied by Governor’s, Senate, and Congressional Citations.

As a child, Ali remembers looking at wall murals, and thinking, “I am going to do that when I grow up”. Art has always been a part of her life, and was especially comforting during times of devastation. When she was in 2nd grade, her older brother was tragically killed in a work-related accident, leaving her family broken, knowing life would never be the same. Before too long, when Ali was starting her freshman year of high school, her father lost his battle with cancer, after being in remission for almost a decade. During this confusing time in life, Ali was able to focus on her art, which brought comfort and healing. Ultimately, she knew God gave her the gift of artistic ability not only for herself to heal, but also to be shared with others. Healing through art was the driving force toward becoming a professional artist, and ultimately fulfilling the dream of becoming a mural artist.

Public Art is vital to adding a sense of pride, identity and unity in communities and enhances residents’ quality of life. It adds value, both aesthetically and economically within the commercial sector. Murals add color, tell stories, communicate its area’s culture, and simply add positive vibes to the people who view them. Murals offer an opportunity to transform something mundane, or sometimes ugly and broken, into something beautiful which spreads joy to everyone around it. This is why Ali does what she does.

Ali and her husband Jamie have planted roots in the city of Salisbury, MD, where they purchased their first home, and she gave birth to their first son, Isaiah James, in 2024. (With her doctor’s OK), Ali was able to paint murals through all 9 months of pregnancy. Ali is a deacon at her church, where she also live paints during service. She loves serving her church and community. Ali & her family also enjoy developing their mini-urban homestead, which currently includes chickens and gardens.