The Sketchbooks and paint strokes of the uncanny James Jean! |

The Sketchbooks and paint strokes of the uncanny James Jean!

12 July 2010 No Comment

During my senior year at the School of Visual Arts I used to catch lunch with a fellow illustration student, Daniel Dos Santos, who I felt was by far the most talented in the class. (You need to check his work, amazing) One afternoon Daniel began telling me about a new guy in the school that had these sketchbooks that were unbelievable. This conversation stood out in my mind because Daniel was so talented himself that it was intriguing to hear of the excitement that he was expressing about seeing these sketchbooks. The new students name was James Jean. Years pass and his buzz grew from bagel shops at lunch with Daniel to internationally respected art world intrigue. A lot of you are probably familiar with his brilliantly crafted sketchbooks as well as his cover work with DC Comics (Fables, Umbrella Academy), Marvel(Amazing Fantasy, Runaways, X-Men ‘wow!’) and his line for Prada.

His portfolio is bound to the gills with incredible work proving that the man not only has an unparalleled gifted vision but the work ethic to match. His sketchbooks are so impressive that they reprint them and sell in limited runs for a pretty penny. Good luck snagging one.

My alma mater, the rough and tumble art SVA , has output some phenomenal talent over the years including Bill Plympton, Steve Ditko, Keith Haring, David LaChapelle, and a slew of notable graffiti writers. I am thrilled and honored to have shared the halls with these people but today and am particularly buzzed about the amazing James Jean.