Jake

Welcome To The Artists Blog

When did you first become interested in art?

I was around 6 yrs. old when my teacher said i had talent. I was taking piano lessons at the time and I hated it. The teacher would put pennies on my little fingers to try and make my hands work right. My fingers ached and so…
That is when i became creative and found art as a way to quit the piano. I do listen to music while i paint and believe music and art are totally connected.

What style of art do you use most?

Style is hard to define for me. I make up my own as i go along. I enjoy drawing faces and with that comes the rest of the picture. I did start with a leg recently and went from there. I call my art paper dolls that have soles. I paint in a stain glass look. I use acrylics wno or little water and a high gloss finish at the end. I also use a black dry mark a lot to define why i call it the stain glass technique.

Has your style changed from when you first began as an artist?

not really.

What medium do you use?

acrylic

What made you choose that medium?

It dries fast.

Do your ideas come from life or imagination?

imagination which must stem from life.

How do you choose your images and colours?

I don’t choose my images. I start off with a face and what appears is how i choose to begin my story. I have many ideas in a journal, but that comes after i see what appears. AS for color…i don’t like to use to much. My art is always black/white/grey…or black/white/gold…my women always have red lips and nails or red tulips or roses in there somewhere..but that is just a tiny touch…then i love skies.. blue to me is not color..it is the sky..so depending what other color i add..it is really just secondary.

Who is your favourite artist?

I did love Erte for many years..Dali when i was young..but i like so many styles that i can not pick a favorite.



What is your favourite piece of work by yourself?

I favor what i’m doing at the time.

How much time (on average) does it take to complete a work?

2-3 days. yes, i’m crazy. when i start..i must finish…i sleep maybe 2-3 hrs each day until i finish…the longest painting took 8 days. EXHAUSTING!!!!

How well do you take criticism?

I actually like it. It tells you what people don’t like. Nothing wrong with that.

What do you do to overcome a ‘block’?

I have no blocks in July, January, and February…so i paint at those times.

But i do crave to paint when i know i will have time and to get past the block..i just stick the canvas in my face where ever i am when I’m home until i just start to draw something on it. I just make sure i have a vacuum hose to suck up all the erasings…

How do you know something is ‘finished’? Is it easy to walk away?

yep..i just see nothing left to do..and immediately sign my name and put a clear coat of varnish on it.

Have you had exhibits in galleries?

yes, once in my late 20’s when someone liked a piece of art hanging in my showroom. they told me what to paint and i did 6 pictures for them. it was something to do which was not in my character and so i did it. my family and i had fun, but i had to stay true to my own business which is how i earned my living.

Have you any exhibits in galleries planned for the future?

possibly.

What are your plans for the future?

I am retired..so the future in art is what i decide to make with it. I am doing a show in the fall with a friend and that will make me produce because i have committed. I have not done a show in close to 30 years other than a small show where i live, so this should be fun or not. I did some wallpaper illustrations for a friend who owns a wallpaper company and my art was picked for a new hotel in Vegas and i may continue on that road since i have designed another 6 works and will see what happens from there.

What advice would you give new artists?

To immediately start working for companies that will hire you to either do some form of art or to intern and learn from them how they earn a living in art. Teacher,fashion,publishing,commercial…doesn’t matter…I would get a good education degree and have something to fall back on, unless you are going to becomes an art teacher. I always told my kid that he could be whatever he wanted to be but to have a degree will give you the dreams of doing what you want to do more freely later in life…or earlier..depends how hard you work or how lucky in life you are.

Thank you so much for the interview!  Your stuff is amazing, really special.

You can see more of Jake’s work here http://www.redbubble.com/people/marlaakajake

NB: Jake is the Pseudonym of talented artist Marla Jacobson