Artist Makes The Streets Fun Again By Creating Graffiti That Interacts With Its Surroundings (30 New Pics)
Interview With ArtistJamie Paul Scanlon, going by his initials JPS, was born in 1977 in Weston-Super-Mare, a seaside town not far from Bristol, UK.
His creativity showed from an early age. Taught by his father, who spent a lot of time in prison and died when Jamie was 18, he impressed teachers in school with his incredible drawings. After school he went to college to study graphic design. Sadly, the government stopped support, so Jamie wasn’t able to afford college any longer and had to leave. He then worked as a shoe repairer and key cutter.
Everything went downhill for him at that point. He began using light drugs which spiraled into a crack-cocaine addiction and heavy drinking after two of his friends were murdered in separate events only 6 months apart.
However, in 2009, when he hit rock bottom, his friend George took him to visit an exhibition of stencil art in Bristol.
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Realizing how he'd thrown his life away, he started cutting stencils with a rusty blade, a magazine cover and a stolen can of high-pressure spray paint.
However, he still hadn't faced his addiction at that point and he finally hit rock bottom when he was homeless and sleeping on the roof of an abandoned hotel.
Standing atop the ledge of that roof, he was debating whether he should jump and join his lost friends, but he decided to do the hardest thing: to prove that he could make it in the art game and show that, even though he grew up in a poor estate, he was not a loser like he'd been raised to believe.
Just a slightly different ankle when the photos where taken 😅 shows that it's not a photoshopped pic but painted for real 😊
Load More Replies...He started to attend counseling and group meetings and finally turned his life around.
Pursuing art, with time, not only his equipment, but also his skills improved, he evolved his own style and technique.
JPS has an unique style, ranging from pop culture and lifelike horror movie characters over funny wordplay and perfect placement to massive dinosaurs and tiny micro stencils. His artworks can be found in countries across the globe, such as Norway, Spain, the United States of America and Germany, where he is now located.
Love ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ this..I did stain glass windows I. My home ......all of Camelot!
"If I’m honest, my mental health hasn’t been good the past couple of months, corona laws in Bavaria have been very strict throughout the pandemic and are still now, combined with winter weather making it difficult to paint and the isolation of living so far in the countryside, I just struggle on through in hopes of better days ahead."
"I view my works in different sections: there’s the horror stuff, which is all about placement and terrorizing people, there’s the object intervention stuff inspired by street items or fittings and there’s the micro stuff and puns, I enjoy bouncing between these and rarely do political stuff, I think my street art should inspire others and make people smile. Most political works have a very short lifespan; they may get you a brief amount of attention but you find they are useless to share a year later."
Hang in there JPS-I empathize. I work it with the gratitude stuff and today I am grateful for your talent-totally!
Yup that shadow makes it look like a couple of photos have been merged. Great work!
"The 'insert coin to continue' phrase on my Instagram profile relates to the war against the collective of artists that form the brand known as Banksy, it’s all one big fraud and they blackball anyone they see as a threat, which unfortunately I’m one of. Their media control is astonishing and if anyone's interested in why I think it’s a fraud, Google JPS burst balloon on Banksy, to this day I’m still not proven wrong. But I lost this battle and felt it’s kind of game over for my career. My outlook on art and life is art saved me from addiction and I find no greater happiness in painting works that the world enjoys."
No it's an example of a council approved streetart Project.
Load More Replies..."The 'insert coin to continue' phrase on my Instagram profile relates to the war against the collective of artists that form the brand known as Banksy, it’s all one big fraud and they blackball anyone they see as a threat, which unfortunately I’m one of. Their media control is astonishing and if anyone's interested in why I think it’s a fraud, Google JPS burst balloon on Banksy, to this day I’m still not proven wrong. But I lost this battle and felt it’s kind of game over for my career. My outlook on art and life is art saved me from addiction and I find no greater happiness in painting works that the world enjoys."
Please …. We need all this On Our Streets here in Dk…. We have so many talented people🙏🏻😍😍😍😍
"I’ve lost so many friends through drugs, suicide, and a few other causes that I struggle to list them all, I guess you become numb to it over time and I try not to think back at things too much, I have paid tribute to a few via my work and have a few others I want to pay tribute to in this way, I think growing up on a rough estate we were labelled from birth and it’s like that was meant to be our fates, I’m hoping to prove that wrong one day and get some of their stories told."
This is slick, never would have thought to turn it into a subway car
"My advice to anyone starting out is start simple and also paint things that you want to and can relate to personally, the stuff the media proclaims is cool will only be used to promote a certain brand. It’s stale in my eyes. The breaking the law part is always nerve-wracking, I just had nothing to lose when I started out."
2021 was a good year for me. I was sad to see it go
Load More Replies...Isn't it crazy how 2020 was the worst year in decades and yet no one demonizes it anymore?
Maybe not if you live in the UK. Unless you're a government minister or the PM of course :)
Use or use not. Float or float not. Butt will heal or heal not. The force will save pain in ass or save not. Trump will of course be further from the ground. He's got that natural thing in his favor that makes Obi Wan look like an amateur.
That would scare the sh;t out of me if I walked up on it and wasn't aware of it's presence!!
So Cool Love dinosaurs Trex is 1 of fav dinosaur beside Blue the clever girl velociraptor!!
Poor Rex-such teeny little arms...all it can do with them is rub them together with glee.
Only if they’d dropped acid would they think that...
Load More Replies...Looks just like my phone who makes T. rex roar when it rings. I added the perfect little purse with with a strap so it hangs from its tiny little arms.
I would pee my pants coming across that while urban exploring
And with his eyes closed. Looks like Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou. Drunken Horse was hysterical.
Sometimes i wonder if I'm the only one that remembers Johnny 5. They movie was filmed really close to where i live and people don't remember it
I was hoping that the little girl was holding up a pin to picture the balloon.
I never look under the bed at night-older and definitely wiser. Creepiness does exist.
Can you imagine how much bullying he had to go through wearing that outfit. A makeover and a great suit would make him feel like a new man. He probably smells like a wet skunk. Get the old spice guy to take him shopping.
He could dig up those weeds. Feel appreciated Hard to get a job cause he can't hold a hammer, type or even fill out an application because they just get shredded.
I thought "a nightmare to remove" meant the artwork, but now that you've said that maybe they were referring to the weeds after all.
Load More Replies...Nope, it's advertisement. In Germany most firedepartments are voluntary
Load More Replies...Must have been in a zoom meeting. Didn't have time to grab his pants.
thats Ram Man from He Man and the Masters of the Universe
Load More Replies...I think this is inspired by this Norwegian ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyQ6qD-u-J8&ab_channel=Posten
Naw it's inspired by a film called "Bad Santa", really worth watching 😊
Load More Replies...He looks like he needs a drink. And a willing able and willing female.
Oh good, I don't feel bad for also thinking it looked like Harrison Ford
Load More Replies...I love it! I wonder if Munch ever could have imagined a day when his work would be remade and used by so many in so many contexts.
Definitely the best. Tim is the best at anything he does.
Load More Replies...Where is this guy shopping? I though the Old Spice guy was taking him to get some new threads. Better include the "Stay Thirsty My Friends" .and have a couple Dos Equis brewskis to loosen old Penny Pincher before hitting the mall.
It's called jps Vs Banksy. The girl is the Banksy girl, pennywise is jps and took her balloon away.
Load More Replies...It's spelling "cope", it's a tribute to the famous graffiti writer 😊
Load More Replies...I mean. There's literally a quid on the thing in front of him. I assume it's been superglued down so no one can pick it up lol
Load More Replies...Squid game is awesome!!!! Just wish i could find a stupid english link
Very prophetic at the moment. There could well be a blond buffoon getting arrested. ))
I'll conteract the down vote , 'cos we have good taste in music ))
Load More Replies...The most overrated movie, which also spawned an entire generation of wannabe witches. The only thing I got out of that movie was my eventual love for Portishead
Load More Replies...Yeah, Jesus was supposed to be a carpenter, not an artist. As an artist, I take offense to this piece. ;)
Load More Replies...If not for the initials, I would have easily believed this is Banksy!
Ventriloquists and their dummies are archaic AND creepy!
Load More Replies...I love how he paints miniature figures with such beautiful detail and also paints very large things like the T-Rex. His style is very reminiscent of Banksy.
I have loads of his work on photo from barrow gurney mental hospital before it got demolition
Well, I would say he definitely made it on the art scene. He has talent and a sense of humour.
Better style and more fun than most of Banksy's pieces in my opinion. Appreciate both but like your playful takes without. seeming to need to always having to make a point. Keep up the good works!
I love how he paints miniature figures with such beautiful detail and also paints very large things like the T-Rex. His style is very reminiscent of Banksy.
I have loads of his work on photo from barrow gurney mental hospital before it got demolition
Well, I would say he definitely made it on the art scene. He has talent and a sense of humour.
Better style and more fun than most of Banksy's pieces in my opinion. Appreciate both but like your playful takes without. seeming to need to always having to make a point. Keep up the good works!
