Stephen McClanahanJonezy’s world is a love letter to the Pacific Northwest.
Jonezy’s insistence that he had no intention of talking about his life outside of his craft was a powerful statement.
“…everything revolves around art for me,” said the local painter, confident in his ability to answer for his skill with the brush.
Dedicated to his craft, Jonezy travels around the country to promote his art, clothing and collaborative events. “I just did my taxes. When they asked how many miles I drove for art, I was like ‘I don’t know my mileage… everything?’ I’m JonezyArtwork, so everything I do is art-related. Everything is an art possibility.”
Piecing together why Jonezy’s art is in demand isn’t difficult; inspired by the bold lines of graffiti, he creates brightly colored and sharply contrasted paintings. Feature subjects often include Sasquatch folklore of the Pacific Northwest and recurring motifs, from rain clouds to marijuana culture. And each piece is a unique, numbered painting. Collections of his spirited universe often find themselves on the walls of downtown Salem businesses like Taproot Lounge & Cafe and Venti’s Cafes.
When pressed about the comic book origin story of his painting powers, the artist quickly pivoted to his childhood. “My parents did art. My mom did stained glass and sewing, and my dad doodled a lot.”
Recalling elementary school, the demand for Jonezy’s bubble art name tags for binders eventually pushed the future professional to charge $5 of his 5th grade peers for services rendered. Even at a young age, the talent was recognizable.
In 2004, fresh out of high school and working in coffee, Jonezy began to show his art in galleries. Jonezy fondly remembers when MySpace was the social media platform, which enabled him to build connections with artists all over the country. It wasn’t long before he was receiving invitations to exhibit his work in other states. These relationships eventually lead to further collaborations and overwhelming positive reception from fellow artists and community members motivated Jonezy to invest more in his process.
In 2010, the entrepreneur moved to Las Vegas with dreams of following his favorite musical acts. By 2013, a can-do-attitude, friendly demeanor and paint swatches of talent led him to create commissions for gear, from jackets to shoes, for artists like Yelawolf, Paul Wall and Travis Barker from Blink 182. It didn’t take long for him to realize his art was paying off.
“Jump ahead. 2015. I started noticing I was making more money selling artwork than working in a coffee shop. That’s when it turned. That’s when I was like ‘oh, there’s hella support in my community, and now worldwide’,” Jonezy said.
With a website boasting his unique paintings, limited prints, collaborative events and a successful clothing line representing his art, the future has never looked brighter for the young hustler.
“JonezyArtwork everything. I just started JonezyArtworkPodcast this year. My main thing is I do art with musicians – I paint their jackets, I do live paintings on stage with them – but now I’m like ‘I hang out with these guys why don’t I interview them?’ So I got this podcast going, and it’s all about music, art, hip-hop, rap, reggae, any bands that I’ve done stuff with, and entrepreneurs. I’ll interview anyone who’s creative in their own ways.”
Connect with Jonezy
www.jonezyartwork.net
www.instagram.com/jonezyartwork
www.facebook.com/jonezyartworkclothing
