We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jean Montesinos Mederos. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jean below.
Jean, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
I’m definitely happier as a creative, but I can’t lie and say that I’ve never thought of what my life would be like if I had gone into a different field and wether or not it would have been more impactful/ meaningful. Ive been thinking about this a lot in terms of current social and political issues and how my work relates to them, what does my work have to offer in making the world a better place or providing something of value to the people around me? Can my work really make an impact? Thankfully Im
surrounded by a strong artistic community at CalArts and am constantly reminded of the influence artists have on the world. I see the impact they have on me and realize that I am capable of that same effect.
Jean, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
One of the most important things I’ve realized as an artist is that my voice can
make an impact. As a child, I was greatly shaped by the animated films I consumed
and thought of them almost as magic. I got to experience all of these different
adventures and perspectives that would have otherwise been out of reach. I always
walked away from these stories with something different, something that I didn’t have before. I still think of animation as magical, but now it’s something that I can use to leave an impact on the lives of others. My goal is to pull my audience in with my stories and leave them different than before. I aim to give people an experience, to make them feel something in that moment. To show them stories of love, loss,
happiness, what they know, what they don’t know, and the full spectrum of
emotions that encompasses the human experience and what it means to be us
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Honestly I wish I new more about figure drawing resources:
https://www.female-anatomy-for-artist.com
https://www.human-anatomy-for-artist.com/ [Exclusively male models
https://line-of-action.com
https://2bornot2bcollective.gumroad.com
https://www.youtube.com/@JoshuaJacoboArt/playlists
https://www.youtube.com/@NewMastersAcademyorgNMA/playlists
these are just some of the websites I’ve used and honestly they’ve helped me out so much. I wish I knew about them earlier since its so hard to get figure drawing / life drawing reference, especially for young artists.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
get political, push for policies that facilitate the creation of art, and advocate for spaces that make art possible. There are a lot of things in our society that really restrict creatives wether its corporate greed, lack of resources, or any other miscellaneous circumstance that gets in the way of our time for creating as a society, its up to ys as a society to fight for the art that we want to see in the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jeanmontesinos.carrd.co/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jemvein?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Twitter: https://x.com/jemvein_?s=21&t=YnK1kfBzcpJ6iukUw1_IRg
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jemvein?si=SN1LKp4vJdQFCAyP
