Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan James.
Hi Jonathan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
To me, this part of the story seems so boring. It’s mine and I’ve heard it told over and over again. Regardless, it’s been kind of a struggle. Being alive generally is kinda a struggle. But I suppose that the job of an artist is just to document that struggle. Not that it is in some way unique to artists when we document it, we just do?
I was born into a sort of cult. I had that envelop me for the first 12 years of my life, and shedding that lifestyle was my first forray into being a person. I spent a lot of those years imagining a different world. I would develop that world in drawings as an escape – and in that escape found a passion. I lost art for a while when my escape developed into drug use. Always escapes.
At some point, I developed a relationship with a mentor who lovingly redirected my energy back into art and I found myself on a track of higher ed stuff for drawing and painting. That lasted a good while, and a really pushed for every drop of progress and information I could find. My education took me from Baltimore to San Francisco and then back again (SF is so expensive). But while I was there I sorta soaked up all that west coast pop art sorta juxtapose/upper playground-style surrealism and just skated by doing abstracts and geometric work.
My craft was able to be continually developed thanks to a really wonderful and supportive network of people, and through that, my work has landed where I am now; a loosie goosey kinda pop academic drawing and painting. For the past 5 years, I had been living in Tampa doing illustration.
During that time too, I was able to realize my dream of kids’ book illustration (my mom and I always planned an imaginary book together we would one day make) I DID IT, MOM! During that time too I started landing some serious jobs with some bigger names and really developed my confidence and business practice.
Now, I get to make art for a living!!!!! I have been supporting myself in art for almost a decade now. In the first couple of years, it was tragic and demanding, and time intrusive but I have really been lucky to get the chance to casually draw for a full-time job.
Since I came back to my hometown of Baltimore though I really want to pursue more gallery work. I have been frustratingly avoiding galleries… but, maybe find a new footing in the community here for fine art (whatever that means) and try to see how much further I can push myself could be a nice place to stretch my abilities.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Ha!
A smooth road.
No. of course not. I alluded to the cult, the drug use, growing up poor, and (ya know since I was born at a certain time of the world I also have hella mental illnesses and a strong solid foundation in neurodivergence) struggles are abound. But that’s life. I don’t let those things hold me back.
They do cause hang-ups and at some points in my life were obstacles that needed to be confronted but we all have whatever obstacles ya know. At the end of the day, I’m glad to go home with my problems, and not anyone else.
I do feel like the kind of person who gets shaped and molded by those types of experiences. They shaped me into the kind of empathetic person that I wanted and needed when I was a kiddo. It shaped me into a person who can help the next person with experiences like mine.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My personal work is focused strongly on the human parts of art. I like figurative work and portraiture. I am obsessed with humans (go figure). The shapes of us, the interactions. The colors. I’ve been trying to open up to various other types of subjects but it always comes back to that.
My fav aspect of creating though in this human subject matter is to express the irregularities, the inconsistencies, the imperfections. A lot of my work is left *unfinished* as well. A lot of work is in progress. I like not only showing the construction of the work itself (like withdrawing – leaving the construction lines, the structure, and showing how the drawing is made) but how it is still in progress. Like we are all in progress. Our lives are only ever glimpsed out of context. And so I like to remind myself of that with each drawing.
Much like the insightful band Hoobastank’s lyrics “I’m not a perfect person.” That said; I dunno if I’m known for anything. I try to keep the work I make eclectic enough to remain interesting to me so that I don’t just end up copying myself over and over again like the failure of most artists I’ve looked up to.
Maybe I’m known for making eclectic work that cant be compartmentalized? (I guess that also means I’m unmarketable hahaha).
WHAT IS THE WORK I’M MOST PROUD OF?!?!?!
What are you, my therapist?
JK, that’s tough too – on one hand, my mind goes right to get to make an illustrated poster for a revitalization campaign of smoky bear and commissioned through the national forestry agency. It was a big deal to me to get to make this work. It was a hallmark of my career validating me as an artist to make work on such a large scale and for such a visible campaign.
But like – was that even that good. Was the artwork good? It was meh at best. Like I made it well; ugh, I dunno. I dunno If I can vocalize what I’m saying. Cause I made a painting of this bird one time. A black-capped chickadee. Why I made it, how I made it, who I made it for, how it was finished, how it was framed… it was beautiful.
It was everything. And maybe 6 people have seen it. It’s hidden away and holds a lot of special significance. So I get validation in a myriad of ways. My pride is both visible and hidden huh…
Nothing sets me apart from others though. This question is divisive and I refuse to acknowledge it much. I am exactly the same as every other person who makes art passionately.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I dunno if there is a place for art to shift now. It just will be forever. Once we landed in post-modernism is there ever room for it to change? arent we defined now by *art can be anything always*
Maybe will see less gallery work. less hierarchy. more shift to the individual. We’ll probably always have cults of personality and icons and celebrities so long as we buy into this capitalist mindset of art and artists as products.
More video work. More conceptual performance work. Less dusty white men.
Contact Info:
- Email: jonathanmichaeljames@gmail.com
- Website: jonathanmjames.com
- Instagram: @jonathanmjames
- TikTok: @jonathanmjames
