Meet Jason Woodside, a New York based artist who’s got a passion for all things boarding. Jason’s work has been popping up everywhere as of late, be it on walls, in galleries or clogging up the feed. His large scale works are mind bending with incredible colours and patterns, featured in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Sydney and Paris. He’s also a really good dude, so we saw it fit to hit him up and shoot the shit.
Transfer: Your winter looks brutal!
Jason: Man, I’ve been seeing it on the news more than I’ve been in it! I’ve been mostly in Europe, and Australia since September for projects.
How has living in NY affected your work?
Placing something that contains 100 different contrasts of colour, on the streets of a city that’s generally grayscale, would subconsciously [always] get me psyched. Then once executed, people walking by would be pretty psyched. I find that colour speaks to emotions and in a city with that many people, [the pieces] bring positivity or happiness.
What spaces and mediums do you enjoy working in?
At this point I’m using a lot of house paint and more industrial spray guns for coverage. I’m slowly slipping away from spray paint as I don’t back the side effects to the environment or my lungs. In regards to specific spaces, I dig the not-so-obvious ones. Yes, a blank wall is epic, but less of a challenge. If it’s too easy, I’ll lose a bit of interest.
Have you had many difficult clients or projects?
I’m super choosy with that kind of thing. I ask myself if it aligns with my goals or values in some way. I turn down tons which was hard in the beginning, considering budgets. But later, I realised the money thing is easy. If you’re passionate and put in the time, the money stuff happens.
What are your influences outside of the art world?
I like to stick to the basics for inspiration – mostly music and nature. I don’t pull much from the art community, to be honest. Overall, I like to get away from it and get into a clear headspace. I find the arty stuff kind of serious and contrived. Maybe I’m just cynical.
How important was art school?
Oh man… art school was awful. That doesn’t mean it’s awful for everyone, but I found it pretty terrible. Some folks like the structure and scheduling. I do give it credit in the sense that it got me out of Florida and into NYC. Moving to New York solo smoked any sort of schooling. It taught me the relative elements I needed socially. Yeah I liked painting and creating, but coming from a small town those sorts of things weren’t realistic to dwell on for a career. Given the mass amount of people in that city, you’re bound to find someone or something that’s relatable and that will push you in a direction towards being successful.
What’s coming up this year?
Tons of good travel and some walls. Some commercial projects in [areas] maybe not so obvious – but those are the best. I’ll be focused as usual and will continue to push my work into a realm I’m psyched on.
