Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Stewart.
Hi Jason, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Atlanta and grew up in College Park, GA. I started doing visual art around the age of seven, beginning with drawing and painting. My family noticed that art was something I was good at, so they encouraged me by buying me art supplies and books. The more artwork I did, the more people took notice and began requesting custom artwork. I soon became one of the go-to-guys for different art projects around the school and in my community. I’ve been learning and creating visual art in some form or fashion ever since. From paintings and drawings to banners, posters, T-shirts, and portraits – you name it, I’ve probably done it at least once over the past 20+ years of being a visual artist.
My first love is graffiti and aerosol art, which still influences the artistic style in a lot of my projects. As a teenager, I tried my hand at being a graffiti tagger, but in College Park back in those days, graffiti wasn’t what most kids my age were doing. I didn’t really have a “crew” to tag with. I retired from tagging, but kept the graffiti style in a lot of my artwork going forward. I retired from tagging, but I kept the graffiti style in a lot of my artwork going forward.
After a 3 year stint as a pre-architecture student at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee FL, I came back home to Atlanta, worked a couple of jobs I didn’t like while still trying to do art, and decided to try the entrepreneur route. In 2005 with the support and influence of some close friends, I opened a small clothing store on Metropolitan Ave in Atlanta, and started a clothing line called ATL Originals, which consisted of 1-of-a kind, hand painted t-shirts, and apparel, which I still design for to this day,
In 2014, I went back to college to study graphic design at Kennesaw State University. In addition to learning graphic design, as a fine art major, I greatly improved my visual art skill set, and added oil painting, charcoal portraits, and 3-D design to my repertoire.
In 2016 and 2017, I served as the visual art instructor for the After School All Stars, after school program and summer camp, at Best Academy in Atlanta Ga. There I taught students the basic principles of art and design, and helped them complete various visual art projects including, large-scale drawings and paintings.
I am the visual arts instructor for Artworks for ENA, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization started in 2014, with the goal of addressing absence of the arts in the school system, by exposing youth to multiple facets of the arts including: visual arts, written and spoken word, performing arts, music creation, and fashion design.
Im currently a freelance graphic designer, and visual artist, specializing in digital design for print, web, and mobile applications. As a visual artist, I specialize in large scale abstract canvas paintings, as well as commissions in multiple mediums, including oil, acrylic, graphite and charcoal. I am also sole proprietor of ATL Originals Inc., a graphic design and visual arts company.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road for me hasn’t always been smooth. The career of a visual artist and graphic designer can be very unstable at times. There are a lot of ups and downs as far as consistency goes. In addition to the basic entrepreneurial struggles of starting a business from scratch, as an artist, you may have to deal with difficult or indecisive clients, finding patrons that are willing to pay a fair price for your artwork, lulls in creativity, and even self doubt about your artwork.
I think the more memorable struggle for me, was re-vamping the artwork I created for my apparel line, and transitioning it into canvas paintings, and other artwork, to create an overall style or look for my brand. That transition took a while, and I always try to evolve and improve it whenever possible.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am graphic designer and visual artist. As a graphic designer, I specialize in creating digital designs for print, web, and mobile applications. This includes but is not limited to: flyers, logos, menus, brochures, posters, package design, business cards, sports design artwork, digital portraits, and web design.
As a visual artist, I specialize in large scale, abstract style, canvas paintings for home, and commercial spaces. I am most known for doing custom work, whether it be a logo or flyer for a small business, or a commissioned painting to match a clients home decor. I am most proud of the experience I have gained from working with various clients over the years, which has helped me to become more efficient at problem solving, which a plays a vital role in the various stages of the design process,- from the client consultation, to the finished product.
I believe that my attention to detail, design experience, and energetic style of visual artwork, help to set me apart from others in the design field.
What makes you happy?
Creating new types of visual art, learning new skills and techniques, and learning from other artists, are some of the things that make me happy. I also get a sense of satisfaction from helping clients fulfill their artistic needs whether it be a digital design, or painting. Knowing that they are happy with the artwork they received, and that I did my best to create unique artwork for them.
Pricing:
- Graphic Design Services (print, mobile, or web) starting at $125
- Canvas paintings (size 24″x36″ and up) starting at $650
Contact Info:
- Website: www.atloriginals.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/atloriginals/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ATLOriginals559
