Spring Break Jake

Spring Break Jake | Nightlife Rags

Your artist statement mentions “death on holiday” as a recurring symbol. Can you explain how this idea developed and why it resonates with you?

The full development actually goes all the way back to childhood. My happiest memories were family trips to Florida for spring break, so even at 36, the idea of being on a beautiful tropical vacation still looms large in my mind as being representative of the good parts of life. However, I recognize that while I might be in paradise, the fullness of life still takes place outside of my tourist lens.

Basically, the idea of death on holiday became the simplified way for me to visually convey the contrast and contradictions that make up the human experience. Everything is temporary, and we simply can’t have the good without the bad. Truly accepting those facts can bring a lot of inner peace to our lives when times inevitably get tough.

Spring Break Jake | Everything Haunting Our Heads

Many of your works balance light and darkness, paradise and mortality. How do you approach this duality in your creative process?

In large part, through color.

I try to see which ones come to mind when I think about being in that state of tranquility, the one I find most when sitting on a warm beach with the sun on my face, and then contrast that with the rich blacks and tinted greys that often represent difficulty and death. And it’s the same idea with the imagery I use.

Spring Break Jake | Handle With Care

The use of fabric-like textures and drapery is striking in your paintings. What role does this motif play in your visual language?

That imagery is a recent evolution in my work to specifically talk about mental health through the lens of sleep, or more specifically, sleep deprivation and insomnia. I started painting soft, draped bed sheets along with my usual amount of heavy texture in an effort to convey the dual realities that can exist at night. While a dark bedroom might appear quiet and still, an insomniac’s inner world is often loud and chaotic.

Spring Break Jake | Nothing Stops The Sun From Rising

Nature, especially tropical plants, appears frequently in your works. What is the symbolic or personal significance of this imagery?

It kinda goes back to the whole “death on holiday” theme. I get so much joy from looking up and seeing palm trees and huge, lush monstera plants or tall, arching banana leaves. Tropical plants are so tied up in my mind with joy, happiness, and peace that they’re meant to represent the good in life.

Spring Break Jake | Painting Bedtime

How do found materials and textural layering influence the way you think about mental health in your art?

The layering and texture that comes from using found materials was really the basis for thinking about mental health in my art. We all have so much going on in our minds that may never be seen or known by anyone else, but those hidden thoughts and feelings play a massive role in shaping who we are and the way we interact with the world. In my paintings, a lot of the layers end up hidden or only lightly affecting the surface, but all of them together still add up to be a whole, complete piece.

Spring Break Jake | Rag Sleeping Leaves

Do you see your art more as a personal therapy or as a message to others about vulnerability and acceptance?

To be honest, I think it’s a pretty perfect 50/50 split. I get so much joy and fulfillment out of the painting process that I’d be naive to think my work is more a message to others than it is personal therapy. I suppose the hope is that the viewer will get more from a piece than I do, but because I’m able to express so many thoughts and feelings through my art, it’s probably more so the other way around.

Spring Break Jake | Regaining Composure

What advice would you give to emerging artists who want to embrace vulnerability in their practice without fear?

Start by embracing vulnerability in your day-to-day life. For me, therapy has helped immensely in this regard, but even starting to slowly open up about certain parts of yourself to friends and family will lead to increased comfort around vulnerability in your artistic practice.