James Jean

I will preface this post with another apology. My computer has been out of commission for about a week, so I apologize for my lateness.I imagine Alec will have some good posts coming up, though, so get pumped.

As for this post, I'll be showing you the work of a fella named

James Jean. I haven't gotten a chance to talk to him personally,

but there is an abundance of information on his facebook page

(and a notable scarcity on his website.) To paraphrase his bio:

James was born in Taiwan, and currently works out of Los

Angeles. He's the second artist I've featured with a BFA from

the School of Visual Arts in New York. Interestingly enough,

he's done a lot of cover art for DC comics, which earned him

the attention of some pretty big clients: the New York Times,

Rolling Stone, Atlantic Records, Playboy, and Nike. I've had

trouble finding his commercial stuff, but here's something.

Okay, as troubling as some of his stuff is, I really, really like it. I'm a fan of narrative-driven art, and he's got that down. I feel that often, self-explanatory stuff just doesn't do it for me, and I think there's good fun to be had in interpreting the kinds of stories that artists like James come up with, as dark as they often are. I think anyone who sees his art won't be able to help being engaged by the bizarre environments that his surreal characters inhabit. It's pretty interesting to look at the development of his style over the years. Something that persists throughout his portfolio is a unique use of color. Combinations of colors convey some complex emotions and draw the eye in curious ways. I do hope you will enjoy his work as much as I do, so here's something nice before we part.

and

Later, gators.

-Daniel