Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamieson Flynn.
Jamieson, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I was born in 1978 into an Irish Catholic family on the South side of Chicago. In 1987 my family relocated to South Florida, where myself and my two younger sisters lived for 20 years. My father was a state prosecutor for many years and my mother was director of a breast cancer institute. They both were very encouraging toward my creative pursuits but not without practical reinforcement.
I attended Florida State University where he studied Fine Arts with a concentration in drawing then later transferred to Florida Atlantic University. Ultimately, I would earn a degree in Art History, studying under Dr. David Courtney. The history of art offered many new concepts and aesthetics before unknown to me. The most influential concepts emerged from the Medieval and the High Renaissance periods. Surrealism and the modern eras have their place under his influences as well but in many ways, primarily from a conceptual standpoint. As can be seen in the depth of detail in the imagery and the intensity with which it is produced. I strive to run as close to stream of consciousness as possible.
Once my father became ill, I moved back to Chicago to pursue my artistic goals and handle family matters. This was 2007. In May of 2008, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and the problems seemed to pile up relentlessly. I ran face first into doubt and physical hardships but refused to be denied. Flipping negatives into positives is vital for anyone, especially creatives. I will create as long as I am able, without compromise or fear. That is my purpose.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
Working primarily with ink, I strive to control a permanent medium. There is no erasing, no going back, only forward. Rarely beginning with any preliminary sketching on the piece itself, the work essentially takes on a life of its own; growing and evolving from into a controlled form of chaos, into an intense dynamic scene. Lately, I have begun work on a series of pieces that combine found objects from the city with elaborate, large scale drawings. Breaking into the third dimension is a new journey for me, wrought with obstacles but also with moments of flow.
Often, I work within religious and mythological themes, epic narratives, and allegories. Recently, I started a project involving customized family coat of arms drawings. This new venture has been very well received and allows me to explore an aesthetic that merges historical research and imagery with current styles and depictions. Each one unique to the person commissioning it.
Blending classical themes with an illustrative, and warped visual layout is a resounding concept of all my work. It is the combination of two entirely different stylistic programs into one aesthetic compound. Re-examining ancient concepts that still possess a strong influence today is an exercise that everyone should partake in. Illustrating myths and narratives in a contemporary style will hopefully lead to reflection and critical inquiry on the viewer.
Simultaneous realities. Both experience and philosophy guide me in the study of life, and of art. Developing my own ontological system in order to etch out some peace, art, and humanity for myself whilst surrounded by a world of chaos. All these concepts have helped direct and illustrate my sought-after aesthetic and have shaped me as an autonomous person living for, and living through my Art.
What do you think it takes to be successful as an artist?
Success is a very abstract and difficult term to define. For myself, to create without compromise and still take care of all needs and responsibilities is the closest definition I can define to the word “success”. It is essential to create if the drive is within you. If resisted long enough, it dies. It doesn’t have to be a painting or a sculpture to have artistic merit. The conviction of the process is what counts. Working on a car engine can be artistic if the process is undertaken with the resolve that is usually reserved (in people’s minds) for “painter’s” photographers, etc. Even the word “artist” doesn’t really mean anything anymore. Everyone is an “artist”. Everyone with a phone is a photographer. These terms are growing obsolete. What counts is the conviction of the process. It cannot be faked, and it cannot be misinterpreted. It must be simply experienced. It cannot be denied.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
All of my current collection can be found in the gallery section on my website, jamiesonflynn.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jmflynnart/