Interview with JAMES LEE @jams2blues
What is your artistic background?
I have been creating art of all kinds from a very young age, as I grew up surrounded by my mother's art. She is an amazing painter and chalk artist with many awards through out the years in Humboldt County California. I learned how to create improvisational abstract artworks and have been drawing nearly every day for over 20 years. I am mostly self taught, though I learned Chiraroscuro, and many more techniques in High School, which added quite an amazing flair to my style moving forward. I have studied the styles of Escher, Dali, and Kandinsky, my muses. In 2019 I received brain damage from a medical accident at the VA, and was in psychosis for over a year and a half. This drastically and fundamentally changed how I create. As a result of the mental conditions from the damage, I also acquired a new skill, Synesthesia. I hear colors and shapes, and I see sounds. I have learned how to incorporate this phenomenon into my music, art, and animations. I have since learned to create vivid tessellations and fractals by hand, which I visualize constantly due to my synesthesia.
How did you become a visual artist?
I was born to be an artist. Everyone in my bloodline seems to have a creative spark of one form or another. My father is an award winning singer with a 5 octave range, my mother is a painter, as well as my grandmother, and there are so many musicians in the family. I got lucky and ended up inheriting all of these skills, but I have also worked hard to refine them over the years. I can play nearly every musical instrument, I sing and write songs, I write poetry and I can animate. I can also paint, draw, sculpt, and create digital artworks.
Which artists are you most influenced by?
I would definitely say Kandinsky, Dali, and Escher. I am a huge fan of automatism and optical art, especially since it seems I will never run out of ideas. I always have material to create because of my condition.
Tell me about your favorite medium.
My favorite medium is sharpies. I get such an amazing feeling drawing lines, and coloring in the artworks. The sound, the texture, and the bleeding effect of the ink to the page is all such amazing therapy for me while creating. This, of course, always adds charming elements to my creations due to my synesthesia.
What is an NFT, in the art world?
An NFT in the art world is the future of digital proof of ownership of real, original, authentic content. NFTs are also a new medium. Art is always evolving and continues to show us the infinite possibilities that innovative thought processes can bring humanity. The world of digital creations, whether it be images, gifs, music, sounds, skits, animations, or more, was just finally invited by NFTs to become a real part of the art world for the first time. It's also a good way for artists to get paid for their work!
NFTs are even art?
NFTs are indeed art. One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from Wassily Kandinsky: "There is no must in art, because art is free". NFTs are the newest medium for art in my opinion, and I know thousands of artists both exhibited and emerging that would definitely agree.
Describe how art is important to society.
Art is a monolith and testament of our fleeting existence. Without it, the human race would be lost and devolved. Why is art important? It's a natural part of what makes us. The incredible ability to create, mimic, abstract, express, imply, invent, draft, design, engineer, illustrate, innovate, exaggerate, tell stories, and more. Art is part of our cognitive functioning and free will. Art paints a picture of history, it gives us scientific perspective on the microscopic and invisible. It breeds intelligence. It creates cultured conversation. And like the ever evolving changes and learning behind science, art is so much more than we currently know.
What motivates you to create?
Being alive motivates me to create. I just want to leave a good trail to follow, knowing that we take nothing with us when we die and that we always leave everything behind. Creation is one of the few gifts all of us are born with to give the future of the human race inspiration and dreams.
Tell us about your charity work.
In November 2021 I decided to give NFTs a try for the first time. I trademarked "Save The World With Art ™" so I can start a movement where artists like me can use their art to promote the safety and wellbeing of others . As a disabled Veteran of the USAF, I decided to start building out Jams2blues Creations, a Non Profit driven creators studio that donates to a large pool of world and children saving charities. Any where from 1/3 to 100% proceeds and royalties for life goes to the best humanitarian charities in the world. 35% of all earned proceeds from every available asset including ad revenue from YouTube and physical merchandise and resales goes back to supporting the art community, which I believe breeds creativity in this world. I collaborate with some of the best living exhibited artists on music videos and artworks to create perpetual fundraisers for organizations like Save The Children, The International Child Art Foundation, The Rainforest Trust, Stepping Stones Women and Children's Homeless shelter, and so many more. It is my ultimate goal to have an enterprise that creates content of all kinds: movies, comic books, art, music, memorabilia, and more, all in the name of Saving The World With Art. My dream studio will always give a generous amount from all assets to charity to make the world a better place. In turn, it is my hope to equalize the wealth of the creative content industry and divy it out where it is needed most.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
In 10 years I see myself trading, buying, and creating content worth millions, all while maintaining unbelievable charitable philanthropic movements. All this, in order to save the world with art!
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