Jesse Shane claims he is sick of his art at the ripe old age of 24. Beginning his career in graphic design at just 15, he has already enjoyed enough success to be able to say that. But huge design accounts keep coming his way, so he must be doing something right. His steady stream of corporate gigs come as somewhat of a surprise to Jesse, who comes from a working-class background and now makes a great living doing what he loves. “I don’t come from a well-off family. It was a family of five, single mother kind of thing. It’s definitely been a blessing. It’s been hard. You’ve got to put in work.”
A self taught artist, Shane has always tried to ”roll with the punches” and hope for the best. His first big account was with an overseas company called Kelix. “They manufactured backpacks and wallets and all kinds of accessories. But I was basically an on-call graphic designer for them, and they do all kinds of stuff, for Billabong, for Quicksilver, for Von Dutch, for Osiris Shoes. So I got to work and feel the flow in the design world.” Now, Shane walks the walk, and has the experience to prove it. He’s worked on merchandise designs for Brovada, a merchandising company with clients like Avenged Sevenfold, Sex Pistols, and Def Leppard. He has done art for Papa Roach and even caught a huge break designing the packaging for Von Dutch Energy Drink. “That was, to date, the most exposure I’ve ever had,” says Shane.
Since then, Shane landed a gig with Fox Racing and continues to make a name for himself in the graphic design field. But Shane has always struggled to maintain his integrity as an artist. “At one time, I found myself designing a lot of negative stuff. It was paying good, but it was taking a toll on my soul. I had to cut that out… I’ve since gotten so much work that’s of a good nature and spirit.” Shane has a perfectionist’s soul, admitting, “I’m never completely satisfied and I’m always trying to progress and get to the next level… When I first saw (my art), I didn’t think much of it.” But huge corporations can’t seem to get enough of it, and Jesse’s paychecks are growing exponentially.
Shane describes himself as, “pretty old school... Where I come from, I hand draw everything. I take it old school.” But he is no stranger to technology, and notes how things have changed since he first started. “Technology is always growing, always moving. Kids are getting smarter at the same time. They have easy access to all this stuff. The old school… they weren’t necessarily privileged with that. They had to learn it through trial and error.” Trial and error or no, Jesse Shane is definitely a remarkable artist.
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