"Change in life is inevitable. My advice to you—embrace it and move on." - R. Hardy
Man, what a statement of truth that is. For some, probably a painful one. For artist, Jason Shawn Alexander, change has served him and his art, pretty damn well.
We first became acquainted with my man's work through rather odd and circuitous means. Dwight bought the Dark Horse mini-series, The Secret, just because he dug the covers. Me, well...I was a big Gotham Central fan, scooped up the two issues Jason did with Ed Brubaker, and thought, "Hmm, nice, but who's this dude?" Three months ago, a forum member named MarkCalifornia posted a link to Jason's blog on our board, raving about teaser images from his upcoming project, Dead Irons.
And most recently, I stumbled across his official website through a series of links, went nuts going through his gallery goodness, then realized he was the same guy from all of the above (we're so sharp here at the 'BAR...)
The fast-forwarded version of Alexander's bio goes something like this: born in Iowa, raised in Tennessee and self-pubbed after high school before doing Empty Zone at Sirius Entertainment. Moved to North Carolina, hung out with George Pratt and Kent Williams, took up traditional painting and he's been extra awesome ever since! Oh yeah, and he now lives in Los Angeles.
To be serious for a minute (not Sirius), we used the word evolution in the title because that's what truly transpired along Jason's journey. He's very much a different artist from what he was in his younger days and it was moving to hear him speak about his desire to grow.
Dwight and I chatted with him from his LA studio about all of the above and well, everything in between. It's a pretty full conversation and definitely gives you some insight into the mind of one Jason Shawn Alexander.
Be warned though, once inside—there's an awful lot of single malt Scotch (ha)!
Click here to download the show.
Great interview with Mr. Alexander, always loved his work. I too was a big fan of his Detective arc, so screw the haters!
And nice touch with the alcohol! LOL!
Posted by: Dolph | February 21, 2009 at 16:06
Nice to see Shawn getting recognition..both here and in highbrown magazines like American Art Collector. First time here on your site...looks like it is a keeper!
Posted by: ken meyer jr | October 01, 2009 at 12:00