INTERVIEW: James Jean
Interview Conducted by Jonathan Ellis

From his earlier work in the pages of MEATHAUS to his stylish paintings gracing the covers of FABLES, we've watched this School Of Visual Arts graduate receive an Eisner award, a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators in LA, inclusion in the American Illustration and Society of Illustrators annuals, and has appeared in The New York Times, SPIN and Playboy magazine. James grew up in Parsippany on Westminster Drive and dreamed of working in comics, and even though his high grades could have easily lead to a career in business or medicine, he stuck with his dream and now does cover art for various books and was even brought on to do sketches for the forthcoming Batman film. With the forthcoming hardcover collection PROCESS RECESS from Adhouse books on the way that will feature selected drawings, paintings and illustrations of the artists work over the past five years, we took this time to talk with James about his art.

PROCESS RECESS is a 224 page HC for $25 US Shipping in March. The books ISBN is 0-9721794-6-1 and the Diamond Order Code is: JAN052384.

First off, one thing about you that strikes me is your age, you're still young and have achieved a lot in just a short time. Did you set specific goals for yourself or perhaps envision you would be at such a point in your career by a particular time in your life?

The trajectory of one's life is always difficult to control, so I don't set specific goals-the trick is to be flexible and motivated. However, like most freelancers I know, I work everyday, so hopefully that means something in terms of progress. I also left my TV back in NY a few years ago, and haven't watched it since I moved to LA.

I always find it interesting when really talented artists also find time to pursue musical endeavours, having learned to play the trumpet and piano, is music an important factor in your life?

I really enjoyed playing music when I was growing up. I had piano lessons for about 11 years and then developed an unnatural fascination with the trumpet in high school. Perhaps my obsession with the trumpet was a bit misguided, since it prevented me from doing any art. Now it's the other way around.

Some of your early influences included the likes of Jim Lee and Marc Silvestri but lead in a different direction in art school, was there anyone in particular that seemed to drive your style towards it's definitive technique today?

I grew up on comics books, but art school was a revelation: the daily commute on the subway in NY, the easy accessibility of galleries and museums, and the friendship of some great artists in school all opened my eyes to the vastness of human creativity. My teachers at the School of Visual Arts, Jim McMullan, Steve Assael, and Thomas Woodruff, were particularly influential on my thought processes and technique.

Do you feel certain artists influence different aspects of your art? For instance, I think Hokusai was particularly inspiring in his use of blending colours.

Certainly, Hokusai is also inspiring as a draftsman; I also look at Yoshitoshi and Hiroshige for colour and composition. In general, I'm influenced by many different sources, from Shanghai advertising posters to Russian Constructivist collages.

Your Fables covers always seem to give the title logo a strong presence; do you take special care to incorporate a design that will highlight that in relation to the piece as a whole?

Yeah, definitely-the logo is such a large and integral piece of the composition. Sometimes working with type is like parking a truck into a crowded parking lot, and you hope that everything fits with enough breathing room for the doors.

Among your cover work you also got to do some production art for the new Batman Begins film, how did you get involved with the film and how has your experiences been working with the filmmakers?

I was commissioned to do a few 'style guide' sketches that were probably never used-perhaps they were not dark enough. I did not interact with the filmmakers in any way.

Your family expected you might go into business or medicine, had you always intended to make your living as an artist?

There aren't any artists in my family, so naturally art was a dubious career choice. But that fact that I can make a living as an artist is merely a nice consequence of the fact that I have to be an artist.

How do you feel about the term 'photo-realistic' in relation to your art? Not only do you do highly detailed sketches but your oil paintings are also very accurate.

"Photo-realistic" might a misleading term, since I am interested in the process of observation rather than mimicking nature. The oil paintings and highly rendered drawings were done during school when I was trying to learn the craft. My travel drawings, which are more expressionistic and spare, are probably closest to the sensibilities that I wish to develop now.



Your skills with oils is just incredibly strong, your "K" painting was what really brought to mind the 'photo-realistic' term simply because the detail is spot on and the "TWINS" painting with the detail around the folds of leather in the shoes and even accenting the light source with the glimmers as the folds curve - that just takes A LOT of skill.

Thanks! Of course, skill is one thing, and taste is another. There are plenty of people out there who are virtuosos, but I don't count myself one among them.

Along with a number of people I first discovered your work in Meat Haus, which shows not only an evolution in your style but also your writing abilities. Is illustration your main priority or do you have any intentions of doing a graphic novel or comic interiors?

Sadly, my ability as a sequential storyteller is questionable, and I would rather design a picture or paint than anything else.

Working with both traditional and digital mediums how do you feel each affects your creative process? Does working with a computer screen instead of a paintbrush seem to hold a stigma in certain circles?

The computer might be anathema in certain circles, but none in which I travel. There's no denying the importance of digital media in the arts--I've even heard of people bringing their laptops instead of oil paints to life painting workshops. But drawing on paper is the basis for everything that I do, whether or not it's finished in oils or photoshop. I love drawing and erasing and refining a drawing with real, physical tools-it's a feeling close to sculpting.

Your cover art duties continues to grow, what sort of time frame do you have for your cover pieces, from beginning to end? Is there a certain number that you can handle each month that you try not to exceed?

Ideally, I like to work on a cover for a week, but some of that time actually consists of taking a break from looking at the piece and coming back to it later on with fresh eyes. I've gotten a lot faster over the years, and thankfully the work hasn't suffered from a lack of time.

Could you take us through the steps involved in making a cover piece?

I'll receive a script or abstract from my editor, and after absorbing that information I'll start sketching on regular bond paper. After a bunch of thumbnails I'll fold a piece of 8.5 x 11" bond paper in half and start working on a refined sketch. After that's done, I'll scan it and send it in for approval. Once it's approved, I'll blow-up the sketch on my printer and transfer it onto Bristol board with a light-box or printmaking paper with wax-free transfer paper. After the final drawing is finished, I'll scan it into the computer and colour it in Photoshop. And, "Viola!" it's done. Somewhere in between those steps is a lot of paint, sweat, cursing, and serene contemplation of colour.

You've recently completed some colouring work for Paul Pope which appeared in SOLO issue 3, is this your first time working over the art of someone else? When you both have your own distinctive styles do you feel self conscious about what's enough and what's too much?

Yes, it was my first time taking on 'art chores' in a book, but I would say that I worked 'under' Paul's art. He told me that he wanted a different approach to how his work was coloured in the past, so I didn't feel any pressure to work a certain style.

You're also working on an animated series for the Sci-Fi channel with Ralph Bakshi, can you tell us a little about that?

Hollywood is a dirty beast. My friend, Chris McDonnell, brought me in to work at Spumco studios, which Ralph had commandeered for this project. Ultimately, the cartoon never went anywhere, but it was fun working with Ralph nonetheless.

Having mentioned Bakshi, he is currently making his move towards the comics world by adapting the Wizards property. Will you be involved with that as well?

Chris McDonnell is handling much of the art direction/editorial duties of the project, and has invited me to do the cover.

Are there any projects or characters you've yet to do that you'd like to provide a cover for?

Actually, I've never thought about that. As projects come to me, I try to make them work within my sensibilities.

When you've got one side of your art appearing in galleries and another on comic covers do people find it odd that you're associated with the comics medium?

I think most of my audience is savvy enough to appreciate these different contexts, especially since many artists are developing their vision in all kinds of media, from comics to illustration to fine art to movies to toys.

I think it may have something to do with a higher regard for Pop-AS-Culture, which is great because not only does that lead artists like Brian Ewing and Tara McPherson to comics but also allows very talented artists to do fun stuff, like a painting about ninjas, and still be regarded as high art.

And even within the context of "high art," there's "lo-brow art." It's all dictated by a nebulous mix of market forces and critical appraisal . . . Amazingly, some of my Fables covers will be in a group show at the Shore Institute Contemporary Art in March along with artists like Philip Guston, Cindy Sherman, R. Crumb, Takashi Murakami, and Yoshitomo Nara.

Process Recess: The Art Of James Jean is your first collection of work, could you tell us a little about the book and what you chose to include?

PR collects my personal work and sketchbooks from the last 5 years: that perilous gap of time from the last couple of years of art school to my first few years working as a freelancer. There are sketchbook pages full of subway drawings, figure studies, and doodles from NY and abroad, ambitious oil paintings, and illustrations from a personal series of images called "Recess." PR represents a very exciting time in my life when I first discovered my powers as an artist, and the possibilities that lay waiting in the pages of my sketchbooks.

How did the 'Recess' series of image begin?

I started the series after moving to LA. We lived in a small studio apartment with no room to paint, so to continue doing my 'fine art' I started drawing instead. The subject seemed unlimited at the time, and my plan was to do maybe a couple hundred pictures within the same theme. Sadly, I don't have much time to devote the project anymore, but it's always in my thoughts.

For more James Jean art check out James Jean.com, Process Recess.com and James' collaboration with Kenichi Hoshine; Polite Winter. Also be sure to check out the forthcoming COMICS FESTIVAL book on Free Comic Book Day featuring covers by James Jean and Darwyn Cooke.

 

Jonathan Ellis is Co-Editor in Chief of PopImage.com


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