“I’d rather be at a museum looking at old masters than checking out paintings of hot rods and frankenstein at a lowbrow gallery.” – John John Jesse
John John’s Boston Terrier – photo cred Adam Wallacavage
The irony of us, of all people, using that quote aside… it’s about as good a summary as any. Speaking about influences to his art in a Creep Machine interview John John Jesse points out that he isn’t influenced by contemporary painters. John John is a painter of fantastic natural skill. Self-taught punk rocker and painter, he tells his own story as best he can, which is pretty damn well, if you ask us.
Following years of a severe drug addiction, John John increasingly turned to painting to keep him sane during the insanity of recovering. “I always though i was going to be punk guitarist or bassist ’till I died on tour somewhere. I was content with that. I got this art career by accident! A gift given to me by letting go of the dark cloud and opening my mind and heart to something new. That’s my true story.”
If you ask him to describe one of his pieces, he’ll quickly tell you that there isn’t anything to describe – well, not behind the piece – that each work is a part of his autobiography as a whole. That much becomes very evident as you learn more about his story, his past. I won’t re-quote his bio here, but you can see our slimmed-down version below the print here.
The girl, the Catholic / Christian icons, the poison and chains… all of these elements are surely part of his personal story. Although so many artists reference such icons to hint on another concept, everything we see here is real and 100% John John Jesse.
A widely collected artist, his prints typically go for $200 in limited edition, and originals for several thousand. To say the least, we are humbled to offer an exclusive RUN of this rockstar (or perhaps punk rock star) artist! He’s currently represented by Opera Gallery, and to get your hands on an original painting, you can take a look at operagallery.com for more info.
"C is for Crucifix" – Limited Edition Print
Again, for a brief history of John John Jesse, hop over to the Bio section below his print – ‘C’ is for Crucifix. For an excellent interview of the artist (and all sorts of art news) we recommend you pay Creep Machine a visit.
More about the print:
This 12 x 10.5 inch print is a beaut’ and a signature John John Jesse! He rarely does print releases, and this time around, we have the exclusive drop for you guys. Get in there early though, you know how it is.