jaxunderbelly

photo by Laird

1.  Hi Jim.  Thanks so much for taking the time to do an interview.  Tell me a little about your experience thus far in Jacksonville.  How long have you lived here?  I have been in Jacksonville since 1992, I guess that is eighteen years.  In 1994 after deciding that I had to make my own art career, I quit my last real job and put together a way to work which included teaching part time at FCCJ, Flagler, UNF, The Cummer and just about anywhere else I could along with having my own work space.  I did several large scale murals around town, the one that is left, though fragmented is the one at the corner of Ocean and Bay with the big Jaguars in the windows. I did that one along with Anne Banas with whom I worked at FCCJ (Florida State College.)  During the late 1990’s I was active in a program sponsored by the Cultural Council called CANVAS.  It was dedicated to form a link between inner-city kids and artists.  The program was a huge success, not only were a lot of kids inspired to go on to great things, we were also able to pay over a hundred thousand dollars in salaries back into the community of artists. During that time my painting career took off and I was selling in galleries all over the country.  I was part owner of a gallery called Pedestrian, an art supply store called Raw Materials, and an art center called Brooklyn.  Now, I am teaching part-time at UNF and painting at my studio on King St. at Park.

2.  Let’s suppose you were the “fly on the wall” for a sec.  How do other people describe your work?  Arrrggghh!  I get all sorts of descriptions from glowing accolades to highly critical.  Luckily I have had a pretty large fan base which has helped me do more.  I did a series of Palm trees for several years around the year 2000.  I think that those made
a large imprint and became a sort of brand. 

3.  Tell me about your new studio at Park and King in Riverside.  Is the best way to see your work to contact you directly?  Yes, I am open from 11-5 Tuesday – Saturday and have a phone, 655-4551.  You can also send e-mail  to draperjr@gmail.com. 

Deciding on the studio at Park and King has been a really good thing for me.  It is great being back in the Riverside area. I am doing a lot of new work.

4.  Has New York ever been an influence on your work?  How do you feel about that scene now that we are going into 2010?  New York has become a bit of a Yawner as far as I can tell.  There are some pretty interesting things going on in LA.  So many good artists have moved out of New York and are scattered across the country.  I have shown there at two different galleries.  Each experience was pretty bad.  One gallery sold several paintings and stiffed me for my part.  The other sold 9 paintings and charged back everything from postage to utilities to me.
I think I got a check for $236.00 from that one, the first one was a big zero.  New York is certainly not the answer. 
There is good stuff out in the world.  I like some of the books that are coming out and some multi-media exhibits.  Regular, put-a-painting-up-on-the-wall stuff is
a little off.  Hand-made prints are big all over the world.  Young smart collectors can get into some pretty cool stuff for not a lot of money.

5.  Where do you get your news from?  Do you read any local Jax blogs?  I stay pretty busy and have a lot to read.  Most of my local news comes from hearsay.  I wish there was a talk radio show that had a daily scene art and culture radio show.  That would be very cool.

6.  I’m sure you have seen quite a few changes over the years here in Jacksonville.  What advice would you give to emerging Jacksonville artists?  Advice:  Work, stir it up.  Be kind and supportive to one another.  Watch each other’s back.  Consider yourselves in relationship to the larger art world, not just local. 

7.  Thanks again Jim.  Before you go, please tell us about the work you are exhibiting on Fri, February 5th at Underbelly in Five Points.   I am delighted to show some older figurative work that has not been seen in a while.  This will be fun.  It may be more about me than anyone would want to know.