It’s not very often i see a piece of art on a t-shirt and go, “fuck i need to know who did that”. That is exactly what happened when i saw an Adam Jackson design on a tee in a catolgue i was sent.
I’ve got nothing but love for Adam, he is an absolutely amazing artist and a cool as fuck dude!
Got a little carried away with so many pics, but i don’t think that only a handful of pics would do him justice!
First things first, thank you so much for your time, what’s happening?
Right now I am just working like crazy and always trying to improve everyday, with my artwork and as a person. I always have things in the works and am very excited about some upcoming shows, murals projects, new t-shirt releases, you name it.
For those who don’t know, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
My full name is Adam Isaac Jackson, and I am 25 years old. I would describe myself as a very content person, but at the same time am never satisfied by life. I am a perfectionist in some areas of my life, and in other a bit of a slob. I need more balance in my life. I love to draw, and I hope to keep getting better. Lately I have been planning to get back into stencils, but my pen and ink drawings have kind of taken over.
How did you originally get into art, and how when did you decide to pursue it as a career?
Well, the first things I remember drawing were dinosaurs and ninja turtles. Even then I took it kind of seriously. I remember creating a comic called Food Police. It was about five pages long and consisted of an elite task force called the Food Police (the characters were all food item dressed in police uniforms) who fought crime. I remember trying to make copies and staple them together to sell at my school. Long story short, I was so overwhelmed by the amount of work I had created for myself, I had to simply give up on that endeavor. Not to mention I didn’t have money for the copy machine at school. Anyway, I didn’t really get serious about art until my senior of high school. I realized a career in art was what I needed. So I went to the Art Institute of Seattle to study Graphic design.
How would you say your style has progressed from when you first started seriously making art?
It continues to progress rapidly, but I think a year after college I began to hit a stride. My work began to be taken more seriously and I starting getting a lot of offers. More than anything it’s attention to detail and patience that has helped me excel. I like to work fast, which is great, but I often was cheating myself with quality of my work. My brain is always running a thousand miles per hour, I can hardly stand to work on one thing at a time. There is so much I want to do I can barely sit still and actually do it. I have realized that my pen/line work and ink illustrations are where I truly thrive, and I’m focused on that for right now.
How does a day in your life unfold when you’re not creating art?
Hopefully, much more slowly. If I have time off, or just time to chill, I like to grab some strong coffee late in the morning and wander around with no plan for the day. I might go to the pet store, or walk around the mall, or the book store, or maybe hit the gym. I also try to spend as much time with my siblings as possible. I have six brothers and one sister, and they are truly amazing kids. I am also married, and spending time with my wife is always great.
I have read a lot of people comparing you and your work to Mike Giant, how do you feel about that?Is it something you’re stoked on or would you rather be recognized individually?
I don’t mind my work being compared to his, there is an obvious influence. The comparison
is really drawn because our artwork is hitting the same demographic at the same time and Mike Giant already has such a die hard following, but there are other artist I mark more strongly as an influence, Charles Burns would be one, and I am a huge fan of his. Mike Giant is sure to be one as well. My work would not be taken seriously or recognized by companies like Juxtapoz Magazine if my work was mere mimicry. I guess I would just like my artwork to speak for itself and people can say what they want.
What other artists are you into?
There are so many. Matt Furie, Parra, Todd Bratrud, El Mac, Frank Frazetta, James Jean, Jeremy Fish, Robert Mcginnis, just to name a few.
You can see a lot of Mexican/Chicano tattoo and folk art influence in your work, is tattooing something you are interested in doing? I guess you could say it has always been something people told me I would be good at. Like many artist, I have drawn a lot of tattoo designs for people and still get work that way, but I just don’t think tattooing is for me. I love tattoo culture and art, but I’m just not really interested in the industry as far as a career goes.
You are known for your Sharpie/Blackline work, do you work with other mediums?
I have done some work with stencils, and I love illustration markers for full color drawings, especially for fashion illustration. I also like to experiment with mixed media,
but most of my time just goes into specifically improving my drawing ability.
Walk us through your design process.
I usually have most of it figured out already in my head. I usually will pull reference material together, hunt through magazines, and sketch out a few times what my plan is, then I usually scan my small sketch, blow it up larger and trace over my initial drawing with cleaner lines and kind finalize everything with ink
What’s on your current playlist?
Haha, um…I am not sure. I actually listen to the radio a lot when I draw, especially classical. I don’t even know where my ipod is. Lately I have been listening to Cold War Kids, Bjork, Beck, Old Dirty Bastard, Chris Isaak. there is really no rhyme or reason to my musical taste.
Where do you/what do you draw inspiration from as an artist?
People, fashion magazines, street fashion, the girl next door. Anywhere and everywhere.
You designed a bunch of clothing for Fatal, how did that come about?
Simple, they got a hold of me online and I agreed to throw some artwork their way, it’s been fun.
I plan to do some more work with them.
Favourite place to hang out?
At Home?
What’s in your pockets right now?
Nothing, I don’t like carrying things in my pockets, pet peeve.
There are some pretty fucked up things going on within society and in the world today, what’s your take on it?
They need Jesus, not religion. The world is a beautiful and awe inspiring place, but it it is also broken and horrifying place, and it always has been.
Name 5 things you couldn’t live without.
Sushi
Art
Faith
Humor
The Internet
Advice to aspiring artists?
Work harder than anyone you know.
Any up coming projects that we should know about?
All I will say is that I should be releasing more T-shirt and poster
designs throughout the year, so stay up on my blog and website.
www.adamjaxson.com
www.adamants.wordpress.com
Word association, you know the deal, say whatever comes to your mind when you read the word.
Australia
Kangaroo
Obama
Empty
Religion
Complex
Time
Not enough
Greed
Hunger
Humanity
Peace
Peace
Dove
Freedom
Isn’t free
Art
Life
Life
Death
Death
New Life
Happiness
Renew
Space
Saturn
Love
Passion
Adam Says:
Never stop pursuing your dreams. Life is too short to workall day somewhere you hate. Don’t be afraid to make a changeor take a risk. Success requires risk. Don’t litter.
Where can people follow what you’re up to and view your work?
www.adamjaxson.com
www.adamants.wordpress.com
www.myspace.com/adamjacksonart_home
Last words, shout outs?
I want to thank everyone who has shown an interest in my art. I greatly appreciate everyone’s support. Much love!
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