Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerome Tiunayan.
Jerome, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Similarly to a lot of kids I grew up with, I was introduced to art through cartoons, comic books, illustrations on cereal boxes, all the typical sort of lowbrow, childlike art forms that, at the time, I didn’t consider as anything more than fun. Growing up as an only child with way too much free time, these characters I watched and read about that went on adventures in their own respective worlds, with their loud, saturated colors and exaggerated expressions, captured and held my attention for hours on end, day after day. So much so that, instead of continuing to devour the work of these other creators, I wanted to make them my own and create my own worlds, my own characters.
I obviously didn’t start drawing with the intention of pursuing art as a career. Even then, it didn’t really click in my head that what I was doing could be a job. It was just a fun thing to do to pass the time and make me laugh. It was when I found out my dad could draw (and draw well) that the lightbulb went off. I have vivid memories of pointing out different animals (usually sharks) in my picture books and asking him to draw them, and me sitting in awe as I watched what my developing brain could only attribute to witchcraft. Perfect, identical reproductions happening right in front of my face! That was when the pieces fell into place, and I knew that there was something here that I needed to figure out.
It’s really the combination of those two things: the desire to build a world and tell a story, and capturing the magic I felt when I watched my dad draw, that has gotten me to where I am today. I’ll be the first person to tell anyone that I’m not the best at selling work or marketing myself because, if I had my way, I would be happy holing up somewhere, drawing for hours, and then probably just giving them away when I’m finished so I could make room to make more.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I don’t think any road is smooth when pursuing something you’re passionate about. There’s a seemingly new struggle every day, and even when you think you’ve overcome the old ones, they come back disguised as something else. The most common struggle I face is imposter syndrome. On any given day, I feel like I’m at a super bourgeois, black-tie event wearing jeans and one of those t-shirts that has a suit printed on it. That feeling will probably never go away.
Other than that, the feeling of not having anything worth saying is extraordinarily relevant. I’m perpetually performing a balancing act between delusional self-confidence in my concepts and techniques, and crippling self-doubt that nothing I do has any merit. Again, a feeling that probably won’t go away, but should hopefully get easier to cope with as time progresses.
I hesitate to offer advice specifically to women, considering that I don’t have the lived experience, or really any right to speak on women’s issues. What I will say, as a general piece of advice to anyone beginning this type of journey, is to trust yourself, have patience, and know that there is absolutely no substitute for hard work. It never becomes easier to pursue a dream, you just get better at dealing with what comes your way.
Please tell us more about your art.
I am an artist who focuses primarily on pen-and-ink illustration (and dabbles in digital artwork, but not well enough to claim that, yet). I’m known for my meticulous drawing technique (cross-hatching, stippling, anything that can bring minute details to life) as well as my penchant for darker themes and imagery. As a personal brand, I’m most proud of my willingness and desire to communicate with my audience and others. As I stated earlier, this is really all to tell stories and hopefully connect with as many people as possible. I love moments where strangers contact me and express how much they love certain pieces because it brought life to something they were thinking or feeling. I think it’s this quality, in my work as well as in myself, that sets me apart from others. I sort of hate art that is inherently exclusionary, that is only meant to uphold a certain status or widen a gap between a maker and a viewer. I want to be able to reach as many people as possible and build as many bridges as I can.
Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
When in doubt, just ask. You’d be surprised how many opportunities I’ve had, and how many people I’ve been able to work with, simply just by asking. Too often, I’ve let things go purely because I was too shy or in my own head to ask. Fear of rejection, maybe? Fear of not being good enough? It’s taken a long time to overcome those things and realize that the worst that can happen is you get a no. And when that inevitably happens, you dust yourself off and keep going. In my experience, that person you want to work with or that individual you want to solicit advice from probably feels the same way about someone else that you do about them. When you take people off pedestals and approach them from the perspective of just being another human that does cool stuff, it 1.) becomes way easier to talk to them and 2.) makes the inevitable no’s easier to digest.
Contact Info:
- Address: 827 60th Street, Apt 2R
Brooklyn, NY 11220 - Website: gohomejerome.com
- Email: hello@gohomejerome.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/gohomejerome
- Twitter: twitter.com/jeromewenthome
Image Credit:
Jerome Tiunayan
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