Today we’d like to introduce you to Jose Sanchez.
Jose, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Born in Columbus GA to a military family, I’ve called a lot of places home over the years, but now I call it my wife Erika and our strange small dog Salem. My name is Jose Sanchez. I am a freelance illustrator based out of Canton, GA. I grew up watching a lot of horror movies and started playing in punk rock bands as soon as I could drive. I’ve been an activist, I got pretty good at bowling, and now I draw and design things.
After getting married by an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas, my wife and I came home to Atlanta, ready to conquer the city. Unfortunately, my immune system turned on my body. I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, which is when the immune system starts to attack the soft tissue in your joints, causing quite a bit of pain and inflammation. Since then, my immune system has gone after other parts of my body, making some days harder than others. The physically demanding job I had over the past ten years, playing in bands and the lifestyle I lived had to go. I basically had to start over and learn how to live in a new body with new limits.
In 2017, I started attending SCAD Atlanta and building a freelance illustration career. I am currently a senior working toward completing a BFA in Illustration and plan to graduate in the fall. So far, I have illustrated a book of Edgar Allan Poe’s poems and short stories called Illustrated Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, I have done concept work, logos, and various editing gigs while I continue to rebuild but I’m very positive and grateful for where this experience has taken me. My personal work tends toward the things I love and those things are music, comic books, spooky fantasies, punk rock album covers, sci-fi, horror, and b movie posters, the macabre, and goofy 80’s movies.
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?
Starting overdue to illness and the cost of being sick are definitely tough. It’s hard and scary admitting that you have to leave a job behind because physically, it won’t work out anymore. It’s hard to depend on a spouse and not want to put any burden on them. It’s hard having to make time for doctor’s appointments and considerations for how you might feel one day to the next. To top that off, I made part of starting over going back to school.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I’m a freelance illustrator. I’ve done concept work, logos, a book, and various gigs for clients around town while I build my freelance career and finish school. I’m currently a Senior attending SCAD Atlanta and hope to illustrate for children’s books and editorial illustrations when I graduate. My style is a unique one that I pieced together from various sorts of art-making methods and styles that I enjoy. I start with a basic line drawing that I then digitally fill with a bit of cut paper that I scan in almost like a collage. I then draw digitally on top and finish the illustrations with overlays of watercolor that I make using rubbing alcohol, salt, and watercolor.
Getting to where I am and seeing a real future in this after a hard fall is something I am grateful for and proud of every day. I’m proud to have a wonderful supportive wife that helped me bounce back up and happy to be where I am now.
What were you like growing up?
I was a nerdy kid turned skateboarder, punk rocker guy by mid-teens. I started playing in bands as soon as I could drive. I loved horror movies and Sci-fi movies and collected comic books. I’ve always loved making art. I made the record art for a few of our albums and designed a few t-shirts back then. I spent a lot of time doing activist and volunteer work as well. I was obsessed with tattoos and wanted to apprentice to tattoo for a while, so I started learning how to draw like a tattoo artist. I got some guidance and drawing tips from a few local tattooers along the way. It was the portfolio I made for finding a tattoo apprenticeship that I turned in to SCAD when I applied.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jsanchezstudios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.sanchez.studios
Image Credit:
Jose Sanchez
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