At Supermegafest 2015 held in Framingham, MA I got the distinct privilege of meeting and speaking with a very personable and supremely talented freelance artist: Jason Casey. Jason was kind enough to give me a view into the life of self promoted artist as well as shed some light on his journey.

Graphic Policy: Hi nice to meet you. So I just noticed your artwork and it’s quite striking and especially the picture of Bob Ross drawing Groot. I have to get the story behind that if you don’t mind?

Jason Casey: Well thank you, it’s very nice to meet you too. My name is Jason Casey I’m a professional published illustrator. This is my 8th year on the Comic Con scene. So the story of Bob Ross painting Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy is, that movie came out a week before Boston Comic Con 2 years ago. Me having been on the scene for a while, I knew everyone in artists alley was going to have a Baby Groot print, since that was the thing most people remember about the movie. I said to myself, “I got to have something different.” It just so happened that after I woke up I just thought of it. I mean there’s no reason I should be thinking of Bob Ross on a Monday morning. It was right there I had the idea so I went to work sketching it out. I put up “work in progress” pics on Facebook and if someone else had the idea I was going to be really mad. I didn’t know it was going to take off the way it did and it’s undoubtedly become my best-selling piece. I can’t tell you how many people walk by and go “That’s so cool” or “That’s so funny”. It’s so great to get that response, but at the same time it was never supposed to be that you know?

Graphic Policy: Yeah. Guess it was just a happy little accident.

Jason Casey: (laughing) Yup it was just a happy little accident. Absolutely. So you know I’m very grateful. As an artist you’re grateful when you get a response about any of your work, but it’s really more of a surprise when you didn’t have a preconceived expectation for something going into it and then it just becomes what it becomes.

Graphic Policy: Well I think it’s genius. I mean that could become a meme on social media I mean the way that it came out it’s just fantastic.

Jason Casey: It’s been swiped actually. Someone just drew over mine and put it out there. I was like what the? I don’t know if that’s a compliment or just straight up theft, at the same time it’s just whatever.

Graphic Policy: I think anytime that someone sees your work, it’s got to be interpreted as a compliment since it’s being brought out to different venues…

 

To my other point, you’re not just known for one piece. You have such a vast body of work that took quite some time. Who are some of your major influences artistically?

Jason Casey: My first comic book I ever got was Amazing Spider-Man #353. It was drawn by Mark Bagley…

Graphic Policy: No way that’s one of my favorite runs…

Jason Casey: Right on! So it just started from there, it became Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Erik Larson, Sal Buscema, Mark Texiera, who’s downstairs. It became so many, so many from that point on. Then I decided I wanted to draw more realistically, so it became Alex Ross…

Graphic Policy: Oh wow yes.

Jason Casey: Yeah, so then I became a fan of Adi Granov and Esad Ribic, for a more fun realistic style, and they’re great.

Graphic Policy: Oh I agree with all those picks. So how do you feel about someone like Greg Land, who art is described as photo realism?

Jason Casey: Now he’s the one who uses actors and models as references?

Graphic Policy: Yes, almost to the point where I feel like it could be considered tracing.

Jason Casey: Yeah for me I mean, I don’t really mind it. I used to follow artists, but now I’m following writers more and becoming a big fan of their stories.

Graphic Policy: So who would be some of your favorite writers?

Jason Casey: Let’s see, Brian Michael Bendis, Brian Azzarello, Brian K Vaughan.

Graphic Policy: All solid choices and Brians. Are you a fan of Scott Snyder or anybody like that?

Jason Casey: The one who does American Vampire?

Graphic Policy: Correct.

Jason Casey: Definitely. That’s a good book. I really like it, but I haven’t been able to purchase as many books as I’ve wanted too over the past year. Being so busy, but I’m the type that once I start I have to buy the whole story. When I started back in elementary school all the way through high school, I would blow all my chore money every week. That was the tradition, my mom would take me to the comic store every Friday and I would buy like five or six comics each time. I even had my own store in my room, I’d set up all my comics and new releases with the posters. It was really fun. I grew up with this Pop Culture and it’s been amazing to see this whole scene just blow up. It’s almost like “We Won”! “We finally made it cool!” Finally it’s cool to be a geek and it’s awesome. Everything, gaming and comics that we got picked on when we were kids is now the IT thing.

Graphic Policy: Yes I can certainly identify with that. Are you an 80’s baby?

Jason Casey: Oh yeah, well in 79′ I was born.

Graphic Policy: I was in 82 and I think to myself, if only I was born 10 years later I would have been the coolest kid in school. So funny how the dynamic has shifted.

Jason Casey: Well luckily for me it never got that bad. By high school I had a lot of balance. I was a baller, I played football and basketball so I had that luxury.

Graphic Policy: So you’re a big sports fan as well?

Jason Casey: Yeah I balance my geek with my sports fan very well.

Graphic Policy: I guess it’s the perfect balance these days. So do you tend to switch your style up often, like I noticed somethings that look like they are Frank Frazetta…

Jason Casey: Oh wow. That’s a compliment. Holy shit. Thank you.

Graphic Policy: You have a lot of great pieces but I’m telling you the Bob Ross one is the one that got me to want to sit down and talk to you…

Jason Casey: I’m very glad it did…

Graphic Policy: So it’s definitely doing something right. If nothing else it serves as a window to curiosity for your work.

Jason Casey: Oh yeah absolutely. So funny you mentioned Frank Frazetta. I just recently bought a piece off of his daughter or granddaughter. The Frazetta Girls, they travel to cons and I bought my favorite piece off them, it’s the one with the dog sled with the polar bears dragging the dog sled. Just oh man, what a brilliant artist.

Graphic Policy: He also does fantasy art with such flair it’s so powerful.

Jason Casey: The man is his own genre. He has his own style. It’s like you don’t call Johnny Cash, country he’s just Johnny Cash. That’s Frank Frazetta. I just wish I could have met the man before he passed.

Graphic Policy: One of the titans for sure.

Jason Casey: So back to the question. As far as switching my style, it started as me trying to just emulate and recreate what I saw in the books. Along the way though it’s become more of a portrait style and most of my commission work is drawing people’s kids or pets.

Graphic Policy: Very cool. My final question to you is, what advice do you have for anyone who is looking to get into this line of work and how should they start?

Jason Casey: Well I would say to those people, to start on paper. I know digital is the hot thing right now but if you start with photoshop you will never sell an original. So start on paper and try to utilize new mediums as much as you can. Try not to tie yourself to one thing. You never know if you try a new medium if you’re going to go with it or how it will work for you. Remember that the hardest thing about being an artist, is this thing we create all comes from isolation. Artists and musicians we look around and say “We don’t like the world like this”, we escape and do this on end for hours and hours and it becomes your own. Then suddenly years go by and you get really good and people say that you should sell those. Now you have to take this personal thing that’s only yours and you have to go “Okay world here you go, please don’t be too harsh”. Now that can be really hard, but you have to give it a shot at least. I would tell them to not be afraid of judgement, and learn to take constructive criticism. At the same time if people are going to hate on your work, not to take that seriously. It’s certainly a process and it takes time, but once you get there it’s the greatest feeling in the fricking world. It pays off.

Graphic Policy: I have to say I think you’ve done fantastic and thank you for your time. It was nice meeting you Jason. Good luck to you.

Jason Casey: Thank you and it was great meeting you.

 

* Just want to tell everyone that if you get the chance to meet Jason at a show, please do so, He’s a great guy and has just a wonderful variety of original pieces and he’s more than happy to make you something for a very reasonable price. I even purchased the Bob Ross painting Groot print. It was too good to pass up and I’m always happy to support a master of their craft. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @jasoncaseyart so you can see his work first hand. Lots of very cool stuff, nuff said!