Life & Work with Jantzen Peake

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jantzen Peake.

Hi Jantzen, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Hermosa Beach, California. Growing up by the ocean was the coolest experience. The South Bay beach culture is an experience I always miss while living in Colorado. I enjoyed when my parents would take me to places in California like Venice Beach Board Walk. This is when I experienced for the first time what I was told is Street Art (artists who sell their creations on the street). This opened my eyes to the Independent professional artist just trying to eke out a living in the art world. I eventually got into skateboarding and surfing, new forms of self expression for me that no school could teach. I always loved to draw since I was about 5 years old. I especially enjoyed creating to escape times in my life when things life itself did not capture my full attention. Art allowed me to experience true freedom. I was never that good in public schools & never really fit in. Early in my life I felt I wasn’t a normal child. I remember when I was removed from a class in middle school and put in a room with just a block of ceramic clay. This was a new way to express myself like never before. The teachers didn’t know what to do with me. It seemed as though they were only focused on a small area in the spectrum of learning. This time was the turning point in my life and would set the course for my future as a professional artist. I was able to relate to people through my art, I was able to find my voice through art and building my confidence. I continued to excel in my art classes during my high school years. Eventually I was recognized by a Graffiti Art crew. This opened up a world to me I never knew existed. I learned lettering and spray paint techniques that added to my art repertoire. This form of art gave me a new freedom of expression

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
At a time when experimenting with drugs was cool for most, I turned to a more positive creative outlet like art, surfing, skate boarding and parties. After graduating high school I took some time off from public education to find independence. But, I also needed money to achieve this. I took up a dead end job. I was always encouraged by my previous coworkers to go to college for art because they thought I had what it takes to be a professional artist. Not very long after I decided to pursue a college degree to hone my skills by majoring in Studio Arts. If I was able to achieve this goal I could achieve anything I put my mind too.
I got as much help as possible to get me through community college to relieve my AD. I then transferred to Califonia State University Long Beach to continue my study in Studio Arts with a focus in Illustration and Animation. Upon graduating with a BA in Studio Arts, I was naive to think I was all set for a successful career in the arts. Maybe I could work for Pixar, Disney or even Dreamworks. In a time when the economy was recovering from a recession around 2015 an up-and-coming professional artist like me was literally an impossible task. I had a worthless undergraduate degree and no professional experience.

I eventually got an opportunity to meet with a background designer from The Simpsons Studios. I thought this was my big break, a golden opportunity! He skimmed over my portfolio and told me that he could see my success in exhibiting my artwork in galleries. He told me that my artwork had potential selling for thousands of dollars. Hard work, sacrifice, dedication, patience and perseverance are what allowed me to sustain this life as a full-time professional Multi Media Artist.

I can’t let fear prevent me from my goals. I have to fail in order to learn and break on through to the other side. I wasn’t born into a rich family so I had to figure out ways to support myself and not rely on others all the time. I took on multiple 9 to 5 jobs to support myself until I could save some money to allow me to take the leap of faith into being a fulltime professional artist. The road along the way has been an uphill battle for sure. Through years of failure I am able to reach my goals and check them off my list. Training my eye to see and sharpening my skills to take on bigger and better things.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an Urban Pop Surrealist. My work is influenced by classic cartoons like Marvin the Marshin, Ren and Stempy and Voltron to name a few. Some of the artists that I get inspiration from include, Salvidor Dali, Picasso,Tim Burton, Dr. Suess and H.R. Giger to name a few. The urban side of my work stems from my youth as a graffitti artist. The letter styles, color schemes and character designs all had a great impact in my artwork. I enjoy creating work that stops the viewer in their tracks. We live in a fast paced world run by smart phones, thousands of cable channels and social media timelapsed reels. I am well known for my vibrant colors with an edgier theme. I want the viewer to get lost in my paintings to perhaps rediscover their inner child, their soul, an adventure only my work can provide. In order to discover yourself you must first be lost. I remember a time I was live-painting in Manitou Springs Colorado outside a small business on an old skateboard deck a portrait of Marilyn Monroe. It was not your typical Marilyn Monroe but a more grotesque looking zombie portrait of her. I had seen other similar depictions of Marilyn as a zombie but I wanted to take it further and give the viewer a nightmarish version. Halfway through the painting a ghostly voice whispered behind me, “why do you paint such evil things?” Freaked me out! My response, “If you didnt know who Batman was and you saw a drawing of him you would think he was an evil villain.” My art isn’t meant for everyone. If you don’t stop and really look at my work in person you could never hear the music, never see the vibrant colors and the soul put into it. People are scared of the unknown and the darkside. I like for my art to be the light at the end of the tunnel and a form of meditation, therapy for whatever the viewer maybe going through. Rarely am I creating art without the sound of music in the ambiance. I don’t play a musical instrument but I have learned to express influences of musical melodies through color, through line work and perhaps even my themes.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I usually don’t plan that far out as I live in the now. I would love to get back Into painting large scale murals taking my ideas I’ve painted on canvas and various surfaces to large scale walls. Whatever it takes to create a self sustaining career as an artist. I want to be happy and free. My art is evolving every day. Sometimes I feel that I am evolving faster than what society is ready for. I want to travel and paint commissioned murals for small businesses. I want to have time to just have fun and have the business part of it delegated to others.
I want to be apart of a supportive creative community helping to create a culture that inspires the younger generation of artists.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.zazzle.com/Peake_Graffix
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/JantzenPeake
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/PeakeGraffix
• Twitter: www.zazzle.com/PeakeJantzen
• Youtube: www.YouTube.com/JantenPeake719