We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jacob Starr a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jacob thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I’m currently working on a project called “The Butterfly Effect: Fairy Tales Revisited.” I’ve always been fascinated with fairy tales since I was a little kid-the beauty, the whimsy, sometimes even the darkness. I wanted to create a series of images that reimagined famous fantasy stories through my artistic lens.

I’ve started and stopped this series over the years many times, I guess it was just about timing. As I started creating these pieces over the last few months, I began putting Easter eggs throughout them, or little nods to my influences, my childhood, and my memories. Some represented people I love, some who I’ve lost. So in turn the project became a tribute of sorts, and much more meaningful. Each picture is a puzzle piece to my story. Threads in a tapestry.

For instance, I based my version of “Alice in Wonderland” off of a picture of my Mother when she was younger. She’s surrounded by hydrangeas, flowers she had planted outside of the house I grew up in. Those always make me think of her. She’s sitting with a caterpillar, before he transforms into a butterfly. I lost her last year, and we had always talked about how loved ones who had passed on could visit us a butterflies as a way of reminding us they are still close.

There are a million other references throughout every reimagined image and it has been such a joy to create this project as a little window into my world.

Jacob, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m from a small mill town in North Carolina, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art with a concentration in Illustration from UNC-Charlotte. I don’t like to pigeonhole my work because I’ve done a variety of mediums and topics over the years, but I do love hand drawn illustrations. A lot of my work celebrates pop-culture and fantasy, often with humor and style. I love highlighting local Charlotte culture as well.

I’ve done a lot of commission work for clients who want niche or specific projects that reflect their lives, whether it be family portraits, caricatures, pets-you name it. I’ve also worked alongside clients for logo designs, social media campaigns, and even apparel.

If someone is new to following me, I hope they see I have a legitimate passion for art and the creative world in general.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, being an artist or creative is something I am supposed to be doing. Even if it’s just for the joy of the process and for my own selfish love of doing it, it’s innately part of who I am. Whenever I’ve tried to fight the current I tend to get swept up in the sea, so moving with the flow and giving in to what comes naturally to me is the best move I can make.

I love telling stories with my art. There’s always a narrative. It can be humorous, political, sentimental but it always has a point of view.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Art has always been a part of my life, but over the years I’ve had other careers. During the pandemic the world stopped. It was during that time that I really started getting back to drawing consistently. Suddenly I had the time to create, and really from then on it kind of poured out of me. It helped me reevaluate my priorities and pivot my career.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jacobpopstarr.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacobpopstarr/