We were lucky to catch up with Jorge Mascarenhas recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jorge, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I’ve always liked to draw and since a very young age knew that I wanted to be a professional artist. My father used to draw comics about his fictions soccer league and that was a major inspiration. He was also a big influence when it came to work discipline and loving what you do. I did not have formal art training until I took my first college class. Somehow I managed to get accepted at the California College of the Arts with a limited portfolio, back in the days when reviews were a major determining factor for an art education. Once in college I was introduced to courses like figure drawing and anatomy, but my first two years were rough. My work was not at the same level as my peers, and I had a lot of catching up to do. One of my art teachers said that I don’t belong in an art program. What he didn’t know is that those words spurred my determination to become a better artist.
I guess stubbornness and competitiveness was my blessing in improving my art, and my curiosity about the business side of the industry drove me to learn beyond what college taught me. I do believe that anyone can succeed as an artist, but few have the discipline and determination to make it a career. It is not easy to be a professional artist, since there’s A LOT of competition and many talented professionals. But there’s always room for unique visions.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Dark. Beautiful. Spooky. Macabre

That’s how I would describe my aesthetics. My work is inspired after classic fairy tales with a dark twist, marrying the beautiful with the ugly.

I’ve been illustrating for the past 16 years. I have worked for a variety of clients, nationally and internationally. Some of my clients include The New Yorker, The New York Times, Random House, New Republic, Runner’s World, Family Circle, Wednesday Books, Macmillan, Abrams Books, TOR, Editorial Lumen, Popcorn Books, Stanford University, Desigual, Flaunt Magazine and Estado de São Paulo to name a few.

My work has been awarded by every major illustration competitions including Communication Arts, Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, Spectrum Fantastic Art, 3×3 Magazine, SILA and Lürzer’s Archive 200 Best Series. My work has been featured in notable illustration publications such as Taschen Illustration Now and HOW Design.

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

Being able to create every day and seeing your work in print. As an illustrator you have the privilege to explore topics and create images you never thought you would.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wished I have taken a business course, however not a lot of art schools offered it at the time. Artists were taught how to create pictures, but not how to sell them. Today is different and many schools offer professional practices classes, which is great for an aspiring freelance illustrator. Every freelance must know how to send an invoice, and negotiate with clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jmasca-art.com
• Instagram: jmascarenhas
• Twitter: Jmascarenhas

Image Credits
All images © Jorge Mascarenhas 2023