Meet Jessie Mahon

Share This Article

Sed ut perspiciatis unde.

We recently connected with Jessie Mahon and have shared our conversation below.

Jessie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I’m a 90s kid born and raised in the Midwest, meaning most of the visual art I was exposed to growing up came from cartoons on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network or video games like Zelda. I was a really imaginative kid and was lucky to have grown up in a family that encouraged that kind of creative curiosity. The only academic visual art education I had was taking AP art in high school – an experience I still think of with fondness and gratitude. I studied Theatre in college, and shortly after graduating moved to New York City to pursue acting. Ultimately, I shifted away from performing and worked as a scenic artist for five years, painting sets for television and Broadway/Off-Broadway productions. Scenic art provided me with really valuable knowledge and experience in making art on a large scale and within a collaborative environment. I shy away from saying I’m “self-taught” because I’ve learned so much from artists outside of traditional academia.

I made the shift to pursuing my own art full-time at the beginning of the pandemic, feeling like it was an unexpected opportunity to really double down on my goals and dreams. I think studying visual art in a more“formal” setting might have accelerated the learning process and allowed me to build a community of visual artists a bit faster, but I also imagine I’d be a very different artist had I chosen to study visual art in school. I’m not sure that I would change my journey, even if I could. I’m grateful for my nonlinear path. The love of storytelling from my education and experience in theatre often presents itself in my work.

I believe a lifetime of art making requires constant readjustment. Absolutely nothing in my life has played out like I thought it was going to (especially in these last two years) and I find that being open to those unexpected changes has helped me learn and grow as an artist and person.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Jessie Mahon and I’m a visual artist living in Los Angeles, California. My work was recently included in Booooooom’s newest art book, “Quiet”, and featured on set in HBO’s second season of Euphoria. I’ve exhibited at New York City’s Rockefeller Center in their inaugural group show, “The Flag Project”, and my work can be seen in issue 10 of inbtwn. magazine. I have murals on display in both Los Angeles and New York City and am currently working on cover art for a forthcoming young adult novel for Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. My drawings visualize the vast emotional life within each of us, conceptualizing inner narrative and personal growth. Using primarily colored pencils, cotton paper, and a warm color palette, I embellish simple figurative silhouettes with dreamlike elements from the natural world. These figures serve as an invitation to look beyond appearance, environment, and the circumstances of our everyday lives. I’m fascinated by the stories we tell to define ourselves – the beautiful and the terrible, the public and the private, the real and the imagined – and how those stories give shape and meaning to our lives. My work encourages the viewer to engage with the nature of human complexity which observation often fails to fully capture.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

As I get older and start thinking about starting my own family, I’ve observed quite a bit of concern and skepticism regarding the lack of financial stability that can come with making art for a living. I’ve had a tumultuous journey cultivating a healthy relationship with money, especially because it wasn’t something my family spoke openly about when I was growing up. I think the well-intentioned people in my life who are not professional artists struggle to understand that making art isn’t solely about the money for me. And that’s okay. I’ve learned that I don’t always need to be fully understood. A rich and luxurious life means different things to different people.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My current body of work began as a way of processing frustration with generalization. People are so complex and it’s super common to make quick judgements based on abstract observation, misguided belief, and implicit bias. I try to conceptualize this complexity in my drawings with the hope that viewers will feel seen, heard, and loved.

Contact Info:

Website: http://www.jessiemahon.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessiemahon_/

Suggest a Story: CanvasRebel is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

Meet Jessie Mahon

Meet Jessie Mahon

Share This Article

Newsletter

Jessie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Leave a comment Cancel reply