Rising Stars: Meet Jason Shelowitz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Shelowitz.

Hi Jason, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is Jason Shelowitz (sometimes referred to as Jay Shells). I was born in 1979 in Oceanside, New York. I studied printmaking and graphic design at SUNY New Paltz from 1997-2001 and continued my art education at Pratt Institute, receiving an MS in Communication Design in 2003. From 2005-2006, I was lucky enough to intern for the legendary artist and graphic designer Milton Glaser. I have been working professionally as a fine artist and graphic designer in New York City since 2001. My wife, 2 daughters and I relocated to Los Angeles in 2019 and currently live in La Crescenta in North East LA.

Los Angeles has been very inspiring for me, although I resisted for a little while when I thought I would never ever leave New York City. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with this city. My love of the outdoors and love for gritty city life converge perfectly in Los Angeles. It has everything I love within a 15-minute drive. One of my most favorite qualities here is the abundance of “mom n pop” stores. There are so many old neighborhoods with so much character and culture. So many gorgeous and funky hand-painted signs. So many stores and restaurants that have survived for decades. You don’t see a Chase or Starbucks on every corner (well, maybe in some neighborhoods). I just love that. I’m most inspired by the weathered, gritty old signs that I see around town, but also some of the newer ones. This is kind of how I experience cities. It’s what I pay attention to most. The graffiti, the signs, the lettering around the environment. When we first moved out here, we lived in Silver Lake. I had an idea to make a portrait of the neighborhood by using all of the lettering from signage around town—mostly of older places that have stood the test of time, but also some of the new comers. It took me a few years to finally figure out how I wanted to make this painting, but I recently completed it and feel very satisfied with how it turned out. This first portrait of Silver Lake will spawn a series of similar paintings of other neighborhoods around Los Angeles. It’s kind of my love letter to this city.

There is a common thread to a lot of my work that focuses on neighborhood pride. Whether or not it’s a place I live in personally, I love to create works that inspire love from the people who are the locals. While I’m not sure how many people share my aesthetic, I believe, at the very least, that people will enjoy spending time with these paintings to find familiar locations hidden throughout the compositions.

My work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom as well as featured in publications including The New Yorker, The Los Angeles Times, Juxtapoz, Complex, ARTINFO and The New York Times. My work appears in the book Seinfeldia by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong and Street Messages by Nicolas Ganz. Many of my public art campaigns have been written about extensively on an international scale. In 2016, I was fortunate enough to produce and star in a pilot for Red Bull TV (went live early 2017) based on my Rap Quotes project. The show is called “The Post Up” and is still up for streaming on redbulltv.com—check it out! This project also became the book “The Rap Quotes: Coast to Coast,” featuring maps of all the sign locations and gorgeous photography by Aymann Ismail.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I hate to say it, but I’ve always known what I was meant to do, so in that way, I’ve had it easy. I’ve always been an artist and always (and continue to) made the work that I want to make. Since I’ve never relied on my artwork selling in order to make a living, I’ve been able to stay deeply in love with my art practice. When it comes to my commercial design work, I’ve had some awful clients and taken on some projects out of financial necessity that I really didn’t want to work on. But I’ve been very fortunate so far overall. There was a period of time where my ego allowed me to get angry at other artists who I felt were charlatans or phonies, who I thought didn’t deserve their level of success. It was a real poison for me. My wife really coached me through that and helped me get over that and just work harder. The ego can be a real obstacle if you allow it to be. Luckily, I have been able to move away from that and focus on myself and my own work. I try and just put love and positivity out into the world these days, and it’s truly a wonderful feeling.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Most of my day is focused on commercial creative work: packaging design, directing photo shoots, designing emails, PR materials and pretty much everything for clean beauty brand Lawless, which I’m lucky enough to get to work on with my wife Rachel. But before dawn and after hours, I’m in our garage studio painting the series I mentioned earlier.

What I’m most known for though, is my Rap Quotes project http://www.jayshells.com/#/therapquotes/. I began that campaign in 2013 and it’s still a passion of mine. The project is focused on site-specific rap lyrics that I turn into street signs, posters or billboards, which I then install in the exact location mentioned in the lyric. This is my ongoing tribute to Rap music and hip hop culture which has been a part of my entire life. This project immediately went viral in 2013 and continues to be relevant today. I guess it struck a nerve. Through this project, I’ve gotten to travel to many cities around the country, met some of my favorite musicians and honestly, it’s what made me fall in love with Los Angeles. I had the opportunity to turn this project into a book and a tv show. It’s been a real ride.

For over 10 years, I was very focused on pyrography (wood burning). I loved the absence of color and the challenge of using a soldering iron to create realistic portraits of urban environments and objects. http://www.jayshells.com/#/pyrography/ I feel like over the years, I was able to (almost) master this discipline. I feel like I can achieve anything I want to in that medium and have since become a little bored by it. This is why I’ve gone back to painting. I have so much I want to do with color. This LA series of portraits is inspiring me so much and I can’t wait to begin the next piece for the series (Los Feliz).

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I live for Smartless and Armchair Expert. But mostly, I just listen to music. I have music on from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep. Without music, I find it very hard to be creative. I need music to allow me to zone out and focus on my work. Absolute quiet is only for sleep—and even that is new to me. I lived in New York City for 19 years and was very accustomed to constant noise. We now live in the foothills where it’s absolutely silent. This was a challenge at first, but I love it now.

One of my design professors advised all of us to begin building a library of art / design books. Mind you, I was 19 years old and had no money, so I was like “dude, how am I supposed to buy expensive art books?” But I started buying used books and building a collection. I now have a very extensive collection of art, design, and architecture books which I reference regularly for inspiration. I’m so glad to have these books!

Like many of us, plenty of my time is spent on Instagram, which has replaced traditional blogs and most sites for me. I have a love/hate relationship with it. It’s the main way I get to see what my peers are doing around the world and to share my own work. Nothing will ever replace seeing artwork in person though—of course. I’m keenly aware of the disturbing amount of time I spend staring at my phone and constantly try and minimize it.

Contact Info:

• Website: jayshells.com
• Instagram: @jayshells_
• Twitter: @therapquotes @jayshells

Image Credits
Ice Cream Truck – Collaboration with Ski and 2Esae Skateboarder – Collaboration with BK Foxx