Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Jacobs
Hi Kevin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Kevin Jacobs was born in North Hollywood, CA, 1964.
I’m primarily a self-taught fine artist. I had minimal formal training, in the late 80s, I attended Los Angeles Valley College, and while in high school I was awarded a partial scholarship at Otis Parsons School of Design. While studying at Los Angeles Valley College, I was introduced to the medium of printmaking, that’s where I learned the craft of etchings and monotypes. I would later be a shop assistant at a fine arts printmaking studio in North Hollywood, CA. That’s where I honed my printmaking skills and expressive, moody monotypes. My past printmaking experience has influenced my present art style of today. My current mediums are drawings, paintings, collages, abstract sculptures, and figure drawings.
In the late 1980s, during the Los Angeles punk and poetry movement, I also discovered the elusive art of poetry. I attended a slew of poetry readings and found my new creative hub at Beyond Baroque in Venice, California. I self-published my chap-books and a poetry zine called The Shattersheet, which published many great LA poets at the time, including Skie Bender, SA Griffin, Scott Wannberg, Wanda Collman and Charles Bukowski. That zine was in circulation till 1988
In the early 90’s I later became a commercial graphic designer and owner of Firestarter Graphics.
My present work consists mostly of paintings, mixed-media drawings and collages, and humorous diorama sculptures that juxtapose the modern architectural model.
My work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the United States.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
In the spring of 2024, I was laid off from my job as a graphic designer, then a few weeks later, my wife Skie Bender, of thirty-three years, passed away due to a long-term disease. Shortly after my wife’s passing, I was scheduled for another hernia mesh repair surgery.
My head was spinning with high-tide emotions. While at home recovering from my surgery, I needed to channel all my emotions into my art, so I slowly started making little paintings depicting my journey of emotional and physical pain. Creating art has always been a healing experience, even if the work’s outcome is subpar. I just keep going without too much judgment.
In 2025 things are starting to look up again.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Im an artist teeter-tottering on the brink of brute art, outsider, self-taught, my work is not very sophisticated or shall I say academic. Im very reactionary with some fine tuning, then Im done. I used to labor over my work, but as I got older I just accept the good, the bad and the ugly. I don’t labor over my work too much.
Most of my work is small and done on paper. I love paper products, fine paper, cardboard, and packaging material items. My materials are pretty standard. I,
paint mostly with flat acrylic house paint, oil pastels, spray paint, watercolors, inks, and various pencils.
I don’t specialize in one particular thing. I do a lot of figure drawings. I seem to pick short-themed work, most recently the LA fires.
I’m mostly proud of a series of black-and-white drawings I made based on the Ukrainian-Russian War. I started them in 2022. and completed thirty drawings. I was lucky enough to have a solo exhibition featuring ten of them.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Yes, I can see AI infiltrating the art world. But with technology that’s always been the case. It will be interesting to see how the use of tech affects the artist’s work compared to the market. Hopefully, in the end, humans will prevail.
Pricing:
- 500
- 500
- 500
- 500
- 500
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kevinjacobsart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firestartergraphics/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008591436321
Image Credits
Art Supply Wharehouse
