Jason Lewis charters his way into the art world
Published:Friday | January 7, 2022 | 12:06 AMKrysta Anderson/Staff Reporter
An accountant by day. An artist by night. Jason Lewis strikes a nice balance, chartering his way into the creative world, and fans are loving every minute of his natural expression.
“I balance the two rather seamlessly. During the day, I’m in accounting mode. However, nights and weekends belong to art,” he told The Gleaner. His earliest memory as a child involves the leisurely act of drawing. He and his eldest brother were constantly in competition, battling via stickman to see who would be the better artist.
As time grew, so did his love for the arts. He developed such dexterity for shades and colour that he was popular among his peers for his artistic skills throughout his primary and high school years. “Whenever there was a diagram on the board to be replicated in our notebooks, I had to do several for my classmates,” he said.
While attending Kingston College, he topped his visual arts classes. But he abandoned his passion to pursue a career in accounting. “Art was completely put on the back burner for about 15 years after high school,” he said. Replaced with a nine-to-five desk job, he found his creativity wilting away, with the only glimmer of hope shining through days filled with random sketches. It stood as the ideal stress reliever.
POSTING HIS ART
Crunching numbers became his daily domain, so how did he manage to revert to his first love and set in motion a vision much bigger than himself? One fateful day at work back in 2019, he was playing around with time-lapse on his iPhone and decided to record himself sketching a face with a pen. Figuring that it was a cool experience, he shared the journey on his Instagram page and immediately received attention from those unfamiliar with his hidden talents. This was his first time posting his art.
Seeing the stir of emotions the random sketch created, he turned the page to more realistic pieces. That’s when he began gaining recognition and additional followers. “I started getting commission requests, and an overflow of support and encouragement.”
Presenting purely representational art, the main focus was placed on subjects from reality, with an emphasis on portraits and human figure drawing. His favourite subject: the natural female form. He has improved dramatically since his first pen stroke, and there’s no limit to what he can draw or even paint. Lewis has also found his niche in graphite and charcoal drawings, creating over a hundred pieces, and counting.
Drawing on inspiration, his creative process usually includes watching a documentary, stand-up comedy, or listening to music. Other times, it may work to be in complete silence. The hours, he says, seem to fly by very quickly and he can easily knock out five hours at a time without notice. His top five favourite pieces included a portrait of the late American rapper, DMX; Resilience, a visual piece about the black race; Afro Crown, a black and white painting on the theme of beauty; Rainy Days and Ebony and Ivory.
“My main inspiration is local artist Barrington Watson. I admire his body of work, not only because he is a fellow Fortis, but because of his tremendous impact on the art scene in Jamaica and across the world. He pioneered many artistic changes and was influential in the professionalisation of visual arts in Jamaica. He is one of the most established artists in Jamaica, and his legacy and work will be around for generations to come,” the professional revealed.
With big dreams of receiving outstanding recognition and going down in history as an artist to watch, admire and emulate, he advises other aspiring artists to practise. Be better than your latest piece and do art for the love of it. “I am currently pursuing the ACCA qualification to become a chartered accountant, but my true passion will always be visual arts. I hope to one day be among the greats like Barrington Watson or even Vincent van Gogh, and have my pieces displayed for generations to come. But even if my work is appreciated by only a handful of people, I will still be grateful.”