Australian Artist and Illustrator Jeremyville recently joined ARTSPROJEKT. We had a chance to catch up with him recently and learn more about his approach to design.
How did a lone Aussie illustrator become the brand we know as JEREMYVILLE?
The overview is having an image of what you will become, and holding that future vision of yourself
in your head as you go about your daily business. Many small steps eventually add up to a great
distance travelled. You make a hundred choices every day, based off that future vision of yourself.
E.g., shall I accept being in this magazine, shall I accept that brand alignment, that art show
invitation, etc. It is crucial to create your own unique voice and style, as there are a lot of
artists out there, and only if you offer something unique and instantly recognisable as being
yours, will you have that cut-through.
Not that I over think it that much; you need to also have fun and not worry about what stage
you are at in your career, but you do need to ask the hard questions of yourself, make
sacrifices, have a plan, and put the hard work in.
I also believe in being proficient across many mediums, not just painting, or say apparel design.
I love taking on new mediums and seeing if I can master them. For example I wrote and
produced the first book in the world on the designer toy movement, called 'Vinyl Will Kill'
in 2003, distributed by Gingko Press.
I had never attempted a book before, but I had a vision of how I wanted it to turn out, and
the things that it would lead to, and it came very close to that, and in fact exceeded my
expectations.
2. You must have a pop-up studio that you set up in every city you travel to. What’s
the deal, how much art do you create every day?
I've worked out a way to be very mobile with how I create, so I've limited the equipment I need
to do a drawing and get it out there. The basis of my pop up studios is a laptop and camera,
and instant email access to regular designers and the Jeremyville studio infrastructure, and
others that I can rely on, to get things done. I'm always trying to streamline the process.
The system is everything, it's the engine that makes everything possible, and that makes
my art more enjoyable to create, as I know there is a structured way to get it out there.
Of course this pop up studio model needs to work in real world situations, not just in theory,
and on my recent month long trip to Italy I tweaked the model further; whereby I worked every
day on current jobs in my pop up studio, (ie my laptop in my hotel room!) but still had time to
have four art shows in Italy, and meet with new companies for projects. Each overseas trip
refines the process and system, it's always in a constant state of refinement. I actually love
working on aeroplanes, and in the 20 or so hours from Sydney to New York there are very
few interruptions, so I plan a lot in the air.
Art without a system or structure to get it out there to its audience, is a bit incomplete in my
opinion. That's why I was drawn to the Artsprojekt model, it fits in with the way I work, and
facilitates the dissemination of my designs. I also met Andy Howell a few years back through
Luca Ionescu, in Sydney, when Andy was here in Sydney for an art show and conference.
I was impressed enough by Andy's energy and ideas on that first casual meeting at a party,
to always keep him in my mind, and we stayed in contact. I bought his great monograph book
later, and so I was stoked to be recently invited to be in the Artsprojekt community. It is vital
to keep that human connection with an increasingly web based design community. Which is
why I love traveling and meeting people face to face, nothing beats that human interaction,
and your instinct as to whether this is someone you really want to work with. In Andy's case
it was instantly obvious to me from that first meeting.
3. You’re even reaching out your brand with licensing and new products, what can we
expect next from JEREMYVILLE?
Yes licensing is a new area in our studio, and we are working on more book publishing deals,
animation, more toy projects through Kidrobot in NYC, commercial work through our US agents,
and more art shows as well. I've increased my painting output, as I'm happy with a new direction
I am taking with the painting. I'll be in New York at the pop up studio from September 09 till January
2010, and New York is always a great place for me to get things done, and meet new contacts.
4. Tell us about your other projects, brands, and exhibitions.
I just returned from a month in Italy, where I had my first Italian solo show at Area B Gallery in
Milan, which was very successful. While there I was commissioned to create the cover of
'Io Donna' magazine, which has a weekly circulation of 800,000. They rarely use art on
the cover, so it was great to be asked. I also recently had a 12 page feature on me in
Juxtapoz magazine, plus a toy signing at Kidrobot NYC, my Converse Shoe that was recently
released, and in Napoli Italy I was in the 'Urban Superstars' show at the prestigious MADRE
Museum. At the core of my output, is the need I have to draw and paint every day, and the
art that results from this drives all of the new projects.
Australian Artist and Illustrator Jeremyville recently joined ARTSPROJEKT. We had a chance to catch up with him recently and learn more about his approach to design.
How did a lone Aussie illustrator become the brand we know as JEREMYVILLE?
The overview is having an image of what you will become, and holding that future vision of yourself
in your head as you go about your daily business. Many small steps eventually add up to a great
distance travelled. You make a hundred choices every day, based off that future vision of yourself. ..
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