J Penry was a fellow Greenpoint when we lived there. Easily recognizable from his almost-fro and killer stash, his work was great inspiration for us. He even gave us an interview.
Who are you?
Good question…just a dude who draws..a lot.
Alabama is a great state. Why did you leave for smelly Brooklyn?
The pizza is way better here…plus I cant do watercolors of seashells very well.
Why drawing?
So I can stare at girls in the name of “art”.
Is there something you won’t draw and why?
Probably not…ive covered a lot of gross things that people still kinda cringe at…lately I enjoy not being offensive, drawing kitties and such.
What inspires you? What doesn’t inspire you?
Im inspired by Dead Moon…graffiti doesn’t inspire me at all.
What would you call your style? What are your influences?
Im a crosshatcher…my influences are mostly comedians like Rodney Dangerfield.
What do you think about art critics?
I don’t know any…well, maybe one…hes nice I guess.
You’ve done cover artwork for Blood on the Wall, how did that come about? Do you have a preference for making album artwork over doodling?
I havnt done a cover for them…just t-shirts, tour art, etc…Brad and Courtney are close friends so they just ask me to make them things over the years…I don’t doodle really, I try to make every drawing something I can use.
If you could go back and do the artwork for any record, what would it be?
Wow…prolly Nilsson Schmilsson, that’s prolly the best record ever.
Tell us about your process. Behind the scenes. The soundtrack to the drawings, etc.
Well, I sit at my desk at work and draw when I have a free moment…I like to listen to mitch hedberg while I draw…I pretty much only use office supplies.
Fuse Gallery here in New York just put you in one of their shows—do you think theres a divide still between the “Fine Art” world and what you’re doing?
I don’t really know shit about fine art, I couldn’t tell you the name of any of those Chelsea galleries…when I see that stuff I’m generally bored by it…the only divide is what you like and don’t like.
What does the “J” stand for?
Jason
Are there artists who you hate? Why?
Walt Disney was bad at art because he hated the jews.
Graphic Havoc, which are super fucking great, released your excellent book. How did you hook up with them? Is it for sale everywhere?
My friend adam is from Atlanta…they were friends of friends…so we hung out a lot over the last 5 years…they wanted to get into publishing so they asked me to collaberate on a book…so for a few months we ichatted and emailed drawings and designs back and forth…that is, I drew and they designed…then we sent that to Canada and they sent us a book!…its for sale on Tim Barbers excellent site tinyvices.com plus a bunch of places I cant remember right now.
How did it feel seeing Jenny Lewis in your T-shirt?
Jenny was a sport for doing that…that was the dudes from Vietnam getting her to do that cuz they tour together…I hope she passes the good word around Hollywood…Or she could just tell Diddy.
How do you feel drawing something for Nike? Or bloodthirsty, rich, wonderful corporations? Nike is watching.
Well, I have some jordans…I cant get high and mighty about it…if they wanna pay me good money I cant see any reason why I wouldn’t make something for them
You draw naked people. Why?
Its how god intended it.
Brooklyn is awesome—tell us three things you love about Brooklyn.
Thai Café, Photoplay, and Daddy’s
Any plans for the future? Design film sets? Clothing? Animated series?
Woof…I draw t-shirts a lot…my girlfriend just got me to draw stuff in her new line of sweet purses.
Would you ever collaborate with other artists on a piece?
My favorite artist right now is Aurel Schmidt(http://www.tinyvices.com/Aurel_Schmidt.html)…so yes, I would.
What are you doing tomorrow?
Scaring children for Halloween at jeff jensens house
