We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jason John. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jason below.

Jason, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I spent a few summers studying at a local atelier school. Schools such as these only specialize in drawing and painting as a craft. We would draw and paint from plaster casts, traditional still lifes, etc. Everything had to be super realistic and rendered. Working there at the time, the most essential skill I learned was patience. We spent long days doing really tedious work. Ateliers are really great schools and bring most of their students to technical proficiency. I guess it would be similar to writers taking high-intensity grammar classes/ workshops. I really learned to focus and work through technical problems regardless of the inspiration I was feeling. They also simplified drawing and painting to their most essential aspects: value, gradation, form, drawing (architecture), and perspective. I feel the atelier model taught you how to draw and paint, but did not deal in any way with art history and the conceptual value of work. By the time I finished my undergraduate degree, I knew I needed to grow on the (why) aspect of my work. I wanted to know why I painted and what my work was all about. What I was trying to communicate to my viewer.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I actually got into the field of painting by accident. When I was a freshman in college, I thought I was enrolled in the graphic design program. After a year, I still was not taking computer-based design classes, so I asked my advisor when I would take such classes. He advised me that I was enrolled in painting and traditional arts. Although shocked, I really enjoyed my painting classes, so I decided to stay in painting. It is kind of funny how little I considered making a decision that would change the rest of my life. I just rolled with it and here I am. Strange how fate has a way of unfolding.

I really enjoyed the world-building aspect of painting and drawing. You didn’t need a lot of materials and money to create an imaginary place and experience. I knew I needed to learn how to paint properly to make this ability happen, so this is what I did. I also don’t think I quite understood the history and importance of non-objective art at the time, so my interest was in making what I painted to look as real as possible.

The education I pursued until graduate school was rather traditional- learning to paint and draw properly. I really desired to learn more about the conceptual side of making art, so when I decided to go to graduate school, I looked for a program that would be cross-disciplined. This meant I was in classes with all kinds of genres: performance art, installation, metals, fibers, and conceptual arts. It was really nice because I was critiqued by colleagues that had little interest or experience in painting, so I really had to think about why I painted and what it meant to me. The expectation of the program on knowing the history and intellectual side of art was important. It really pushed me to think about my art’s place in the greater art world.

After graduate school, I started looking for art galleries to sell my work. I spent years represented by galleries around the world. My main galleries were in Washington DC and Los Angeles. A few years later, I was asked to teach at the school where I completed my graduate degree at. I taught there for a few years while continuing to sell my work. When I was primarily working with galleries, I felt I was not getting enough feedback on my work. I would sell, get a check, and keep making work. On a whim, I decided to apply for a few teaching positions. The first year I got an interview at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. I ended up getting the position, so moved down to Jacksonville. I am still at UNF today.
I really feel that teaching has been a great reflection on my art-making practice. Working with students every day and pushing them in their craft and ideas really helps me to push myself in my own work. I will admit that teaching is not for everyone. You have to split time between the demands of academia and the studio and students can be very difficult. The teaching also helps me stay focused both inside and outside my studio. It is like the changing of gears keeps things interesting. As professors, we also have to have a lot of exhibitions throughout the country.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think it would start with support for education in the arts. The most frustrating thing I experience is government and schools cutting funding for humanities in both K-12 and higher education. Humanities provide a great moral foundation for all other fields such as business and science. As a society, we should support a balanced education system. Many of my students have started and run creative businesses of all kinds.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I think teaching has really made me rethink many points of view on matters concerning art as a possible profession. When I started teaching, I really tried to push students into applying for galleries and selling their work as I did. Most art students end up going and becoming very successful in creative endeavors, but most do not continue making art as they did in school. I am totally fine with this now. It is a hard field to survive in and life can take you in many different directions. I have some students that work in special effects for the movie industry, set building for movies, own coffee shops, build surfboards, work as designers in theme parks, become chefs, and become writers. I think that the diversity of opportunity is pretty amazing for creatives. It goes to show how creative fields branch into other creative fields very well.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jasonjohnart.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/jcjohnpaint
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/JasonCJohn
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jasonjohn
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCg_gSHgoG8MXEtVyXfetOFA