Space Station: Jimmy Law
We have been obsessed with Jimmy Law’s astronaut paintings for some time, so Dossier asked what makes him tick, from his technique to the surprising fact that he is a body building champion.
Jimmy Law in his own words : ‘‘I have always been an artist or designer. I was drawing a lot when I was a kid and in pretty much every endeavour I’ve had in my life, there has been an artistic or design element.
I illustrated comic books for a few years. I had my own small surfboard factory for a number of years and shaped surfboards. I worked in the silkscreen printing industry and I was quite active in the custom car industry where I was airbrushing on cars and bikes, mostly Harley-Davidsons.
My interest in bodybuilding began shortly after I completed high school. I was studying graphic design at the time and there was a gym just down the road from me. I think I was quite a skinny kid when I finished school, not very confident and kind of withdrawn because I was not happy in my own body. Going to the gym and building my body changed that and I fell in love with working out. Now at almost age fifty-two I still love it and go almost every day.
What makes me tick? There's perhaps no easy answer to this. I think we are products of our experiences. We are products of our upbringing. We are products of our society. We can go into all this till the cows come home, but I think what you want to know is why am I an artist? My grandmother was artistic and my dad actually, even though he never really explored that side of himself. So I certainly inherited some artistic talent. I was born to be an artist and to create, even though I only truly discovered it quite late in my life around the age of forty. I have no regrets, I’m doing and being what and who I’m supposed to be.
The astronauts started during Covid lockdown in 2020. To this day I cannot pinpoint one single event or something that inspired the astronauts, but I have a theory that much of it was subconscious.
I think the fact that the world was so vulnerable and that we had to isolate ourselves and wear masks, all that influenced or sparked the start of the astronaut pieces. Wearing masks concealed our identities in the same sense that the astronaut's identity is hidden behind a visor. We were vulnerable and in the same sense the astronaut is without the protection of his suit. So I guess there are many similarities that can be drawn between what we experienced during Covid and what I imagine an astronaut may experience.
I love working in oil paint. It is just such a vibrant and versatile medium.
I know that many artists copy or use elements of my painting style and some of the techniques I use in my paintings. I understand that artists will be influenced by others and to experiment with different techniques are great for learning. I however do not appreciate it when styles and techniques are blatantly copied by working artists and sold as if it is their own. I find that disrespectful. The aim for any serious artist should be to try and develop a style and technique that stands on its own, that is instantly identifiable to the particular artist. This is really important as it sets the artist apart from any other.
Covid has not been kind to the art industry and for quite a while galleries was not doing any exhibitions so I haven’t participated in any exhibits, but it seems like the world is starting to recover and opening up now, so I have some auctions coming up and hopefully more exhibits soon, but no international ones at the moment. Watch this space as they will be coming.
Right now I cannot really think of any artists who inspire me, I am really in my own mind a lot and kind of just focussing on making changes to my portraits and I actually prefer that as I don’t really want to be influenced by anyone. I am looking to progress without being influenced. So I’m experimenting and trying some new techniques and stuff and I hope to come up with something new and exciting.”
