concept24

RS- Please tell the people your name and where you’re from
JJ- My name is Jason Jackson, I’m from St Louis, MO North county to be exact

​

RS- Jason do remember your first piece of artwork that let you know, Yes this is what I want to do?
JJ-  Yes, I was in the first grade and in class there was an art assignment in class to draw a picture of this rabbit.  I knew that my teacher would display the best art work in the hall way outside the classroom.  I was determined to have the best rabbit and see my drawing displayed in the hall way.  The next day when I came to school sure enough my rabbit was up in the hall way.  It was the best in class.  I knew then I was an artist.

​

RS- Who are some of the other artist that inspire you and that you admire?
JJ- I went to Hazelwood East High School in North County St Louis, and at the school there were works art of art in the commons area and near the auditorium done by an alum “DLWarfield.  DL Warfield would also come to the school and speak to our art class about the industry and what it took to make it as an artist. I wanted to be like him, he really inspired me.

​

RS- So where did the name Concept24 come from? 
JJ-  So my cousin played football at the University of Michigan, my father wasn’t around, so my cousin was the first male role model that I had.  He was a running back that was drafted by the Giants I think in 82’ 83’, and his number was 24 so that was always my favorite number. As I got older and I started to figure out what I wanted to do with my freelance art so “Concept24” came about based off the fact that everybody has a gift a, passion, something that burns within them.  And I feel that it's your  responsibility to use whatever it is that they’ve been blessed with and use it for good to create positive energy in this world. We got two things going for us, we have our gifts and everyday is a new day, everyday is a new 24. So what are you gonna do with what you have today to create positive energy in this world? 

​

RS- That “Concept” pun intended, Is really dope.  So it appears that you’ve created different entities of “Concept24”, tell us more about that. 
JJ- Well it started with just basic artwork, ever since college I loved using different types of mediums; color pencil, charcoal, acrylics, oils, all those types of things. I can’t pick just one, a different medium kinda creates a different mood a different feel in terms of what you want to do what you want to say. And with subject matter I'm trying to reach a broad audience in terms of my artwork.  I want to expand this to reach as many people as possible. I’ve gotten into fandom, Comecon, Star Wars , X-men, Marvel, those types of things to restoration. I’ve restored things like tool boxes, and mixers for companies. Those type of things opened me up to what other kind of things can I get into with my art. Then last year somebody shared a video on my Facebook page of somebody painting shoes.  First thing I thought was that’s corny, that’s wack, that’s not going anywhere (laugh). Then somebody shared it , and then somebody else. So it kept hitting me and I was like alright I’m a look into it. I then realized how big it is, I never really been a sneakerhead, but I’m a turn into one now (laugh).  I was like this is really a thing, guys are doing this full time. Then the ego kicked in, all artist have egos whether they wanna tell you or not.  So I was like I can do it, but How can I do it differently?  How could I put my own stamp on this?  There’s no limits to what we can do, let’s see how far we can push this “twofourcustoms” 

RS- So if it's up you, when you wake up the in morning and you want to do whatever it is you wanna do in regards to art, what does that look like?

JJ-  Oh man, depends on what day it is (laugh). It's really weird because in terms of my brain and my heart, I'm all over the place. It's really kinda dictated by, well you know customers. That's always a factor but really from day to day it's just what I'm feeling. One day I could be feeling I have a great idea for a canvas shoot, the next day it could be painting based on what's going on in the world, conversations that I may have with people, music something I might hear on the radio, random thoughts, dreams that I might have. It's totally random, my wife always says "I'm complicated, but I'm basic".

RS- In the midst of what's going on today; the pandemic and the protests. Have you been inspired and, have any works come from that?

JJ- Yes, I'm glad you asked that, I'm doing a painting, a tribute to the class of 2020. I've received over 130 submissions from Seniors to be a part of this painting. With what's been happening in Georgia, New York, and especially Minneapolis, I've been struggling with that! I said I gotta do something, I can't just be a keyboard warrior.  So I am in the midst right now of creating a project, and I'm gonna do a Kickstarter.  I've picked a couple of different charities that I wanna work with and for anyone that makes a donation they will receive a sticker or print depending on the size of the donation, and 100% of the proceeds will go to https://www.dosomething.org/us and https://www.theequalityproject.org.au/ so again that's what I'm doing with my 24 to create something positive! 

​

ReaL Starr