Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Jimenez.
Hi Josh, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story begins when I was in the 4th grade. This was when I became interested in art, and drawing the characters I would consume through the various outlets of entertainment. I played a lot of video games, watched cartoons, and read a lot of books; most of which contained some form of imagery and were sometimes comics. One thing I always looked forward to was the annual book fair. A place full of so much images and bright colors which always amused me by how much these books I knew I would never read would catch my attention. This is when I started to want to recreate these pictures. I would copy these characters over and over until their lines, patterns, and shape of the character would be natural for me to reproduce without reference, which then I would go back to show friends that I could draw. This was when I would tell people my answer to the inevitable question you are asked when you’re a kid, What do you want to be when you grow up? I wanted to be an artist even though I did know what that meant. Eventually I found myself interested in drawing other things; what if I could draw people? I had never taken any art classes growing up and didn’t know how to start, or where to go. Fast track a couple of years, and in high school as a sophomore, I took my first art class, and it was ceramics. For some reason I believed myself to be too good for a class like Art 1 which focused on drawing and painting, and I chose ceramics instead. Ceramics was fun, but it was not my favorite medium. The following year I took Art 1, and it was here I realized that all those years and practice in drawing whatever I saw or what interested me had finally translated to the art I wanted to create. I would learn how to paint with watercolors, draw with graphite, shade with pen, and learn about different artists and mediums. This new exposure would help me realize that art was something I loved, and there wasn’t really much else I wanted to do with my life. As a first generation born in the United States to parents who never graduated high school, going to college was huge for me. I chose to pursue Art but I knew I was going to be scrutinized for it because of the stigma around being an artist as many people believe it to be a waste of time. My parents at this point had been in and out of my life for many years due to issues of addiction, thus my grandparents were the ones who stepped up, and with their support and various members in my family, they would help me realize this dream. I graduated high school in June of 2020, the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, and was set to attend college in the fall as an animation major. In my second year though, I quit being an animation major, and joined illustration instead as my goals and style aligned more there. In here through the various techniques and support of peers, I was able to find my passion once again. There I learned what it meant to be an artist and how to use my voice to create the work I wanted. Through my failures I found success, and have been able to successfully use what I have learned to guide my work in the direction it needs to go. After a couple of years I finally graduated with a degree in Art focusing in Illustration, Printmaking, and a minor in Art Ed in May of 2025. Currently I am working towards becoming an educator; also I am a freelance Illustrator who is currently looking for work. In the meantime I enjoy exhibiting in local galleries throughout the LA County areas and vending or drawing live portraits when given the opportunity.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Throughout my years in college, I had many ups and downs, and in my first year, my family lost our home. This was during the first year of the pandemic, and was right around Christmas time, and was one of the hardest changes in my life. For some time my family and I had been homeless and would often spend our days at the park or at our local church for refuge when we didn’t have anywhere to go which made it difficult to make time for my art. There was also a period where I briefly slept in my car in about 50-3o degree weather when there wasn’t any choice, so there would often be days where I didn’t have much energy. Through the pressures and realities I faced, I started to think that maybe I wasn’t meant to be an artist, and for some time I didn’t think art was my calling. The shift from schooling in person to online was also a drastic change, and affected the way I viewed myself as a creative as I felt my art didn’t mean much when there was a lot of change going on in my life as there were other things I could have worried about. This caused me to fail out a complete semester one year due to all the stress and pressure and I was close to dropping out. By some luck I had maintained a good GPA my first year that I didn’t fall into probation and have to repay any aid; this was my second chance. Thankfully that all changed in my second year when I was offered housing in my college’s dorms and switched concentrations, and was able to make time and embrace the new changes in my life.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an Artist, Illustrator, and Printmaker and I see them as all in one, almost like an artistic holy trinity. Some of my favorite things to make as an illustrator is drawing the portraits of political figures and the pop culture icons in our world, or everyday people. Other than that I enjoy drawing the people around me in my sketchbook and capturing those little moments with my hand. I would say I am known for my colorful color palettes in my work combined with the detailed line work and crude likenesses of my subjects. I would also say what sets me apart is my unbiased opinion of the subject I choose to draw. It does not matter if they put good or bad into this world, my hand views each and everybody the same. I have been told in the past I draw people very ugly, which I think is a great compliment. What I am most proud of is how consistent my work has been in the past year or so. There was a period where I didn’t even want to draw at all, but now I feel like I am pumping a new drawing out at least every other day or so. This has also helped me develop a style that most people have told me they can recognize now which makes me very happy to know.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
There are so many people I want to credit, but to save some time I thank all of my family, supporters, close friends and the educators who have helped me in my journey. Thank you all!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://joshjimenezart.com/illustration
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshjimenezart/
