1xRun Thru Interview
Cat Lady by Jason Levesque
1xRun: Tell us a little bit about this piece…
Jason Levesque: I created this piece during the early summer of this year. It is mainly digital with scanned textures. My friend Lauren Wk absolutely loves cats. This was one of the easiest pieces for me to name as anyone who knows Lauren would tell you , she is a cat lady.
1xRun: How did the idea and execution came about? How long did it take to finish?
Jason Levesque: I asked Lauren what she’d like me to draw, without pause she said “Draw me with Nils!” Nils is her cat, of course. When I started this piece I asked her to send me a few pictures of Nils. She blew my phone up for the next 30 minutes with pictures, haha. So I then worked on this piece over the course of a few days, I’d have to guess about 25 – 30 hrs.
1xRun: What is unique about this piece?
Jason Levesque: Lauren and I have known each other for a long time. We usually plan to shoot some reference material but rarely get around to it because we end up playing out in the desert or poking star fish in the tide pools. So, given that I have so few pics of her to work with our collaborations are rare.
1xRun: Why should people buy this print?
Jason Levesque: For every print sold a cat goes to heaven.
1xRun: Describe the piece in one gut reaction word.
Jason Levesque: Girls love cats.
1xRun: Over the past few years we’ve seen some people borrowing a bit of your work, is imitation the sincerest form of flattery?
Jason Levesque: Purchase is, and always has been the sincerest form of flattery. Honestly though, I do get a few people who’ve actually traced my work. Most of the time, though, the “rip off’s” are just other artists participating in the same trend that I am. Some concepts I’ve neither pioneered nor made famous. The viewers first encounter with a trend happened to be with me.
1xRun: How do you deal with those wanting to learn from you to progress in their own work and those hitting a little to close to home?
Jason Levesque: I invite people to give my methods a try. It’s legit. If you try to emulate my style and my themes, the internet will call you out whether they have a right to or not. I really don’t have any control over that. People get really worked up over thievery, far more so than I do.
1xRun: Where else can people find you?
Jason Levesque: Website – Facebook
-1xRUN