Age? Location? Website?

I just turned 25. I live in Seattle, but spent the last year in Florida. My website is www.danteswharf.com

Tell us a bit about your work.

Well I used to call it spiritual science fiction, but both those terms are way over used. I guess I would simply call it an failed attempt at capturing a personal inner vision. I say failed attempt because my real spiritual/other wordly experiences have looked nothing like my drawings. The feelings that they have brought up in me cannot be translated into words, or art, or any other physical expression. So I just attempt at translating that with a stream of consciousness that hopefully will slightly summon those feelings. But 99% of the time it doesn't do that, so it's a failed attempt.

How to you go about creating a new piece?

Almost every day I get an itchin' to start drawing. Almost every time I sit down to draw I have no idea what I am gonna draw until I get going. So it's usually very exciting and gratifying. But by the end of the experience, I'm bored, frustrated, and start to pick out all the bad areas. It's really the beginning of the process, the streaming of ideas that I am after. I don't think about doing masterpieces. It's all sketchbook level stuff, just a brain storm, and most of it is done on regular computer paper. I know some of it sucks, but I'm proud of most of it and it's really important to be doing it as much as possible.

Inspiration?

Unfortunately, alot of my sources of inspiration are same same as a million other artists in a very trendy, short lived fad. Heavy Metal magazine(early 80's, it sucks now), Star Wars, spiritual experiences, and Sesame Street (I apologize for the many drawings I have done bearing resemblance to Sesame Street. I will never go down that path again.). Just the same stuff that has been my inspiration and obsession my whole life. But now, it's associated with irony and a gimmicky art scene. The whole context has changed with this stuff. It's forever stuck with this trend, which will be ending some time next week. That's frustrating for me for a number of reasons. The main one being that I've been doing this for years and have found very little success. I intend on continuing down this path and hopefully rising above this scene in terms of technique and concepts.

On the other hand, a good bit of my inspiration comes from the unknown areas, and the amazing highs and horrific lows I have for one reason or another experienced. So that gives me supreme confidence to know that a big source for me is the supreme source. But a thousand other people are saying the same thing in their interviews, and when it all is said and done we are grown men drawing cartoons. How seriously we demand to be taken varies from artist to artist. Did I answer the question?

Your work is somewhat similar to the SF artist, Matt Furie... Are you familiar with his work?

Yes, I am familiar with his work. He is very talented guy but is not a source of inspiration for me. I stopped doing the stuff that I consider to be similar because that's his road and he has got it taken care of. I literally started doing paintings that were so similar, and the very day I started heading down that path, a friend of mine emailed me Matt's website. I could not believe what I was seeing. It was so similar (in some ways). So I just decided to let him have it, and he's very good at what he does. But in my own (probably delusional) view, we are ultimately doing different things. I feel that there's a level of intensity in SOME of my work, and I see his stuff as light hearted. But I am constantly being compared to him so I might as well accept it.

Day job?

Currently unemployed and dirt poor. Just wanted to throw out the fact that I was kicked out of the military a couple of years ago. I proud of that and I wanted to advertise it.

Tools of the trade?

computer paper and a Micron

Got any shows upcoming or any projects you wanna mention?

The benefit at the Fecal Face gallery on July 10th. I am going to be featured in a German book that I don't know the name of yet.

Best thing that happened to you this week?

I sold some decently priced drawings.......and this interview!!!

To see more of Jason's work, check: www.danteswharf.com {moscomment}