Meet JOLO | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with JOLO and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi JOLO, what are you inspired by?
The sense of nostalgia that isn’t actually familiar. Things that make you feel awkward because you’re unsure why you feel anything from it. Most of my art comes from an abstract place as a starting point, but eventually I add something to it that yearn for your connection. I love playing with the idea of darkness and light. Making something that looks or seems dark, but has such optimism hidden inside. At the end of the day, I just want to make someone feel understood and loved through my art. Music can be a big help in finding where I want go creatively, as well.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I do a little bit of everything at the moment. I draw, take photos, sing, write, create film and act. I’m still trying to make it at the moment. I’m not getting pay for any of it, but I’m making it. I hope that people will finally see my work and give me a chance to create and entertain on my bigger scale and for profit. I’ve been creating every since I was a little kid. I’ve had some big dark moments in life. A lot of setbacks and trials that I’m just getting through and processing, but through it all, creating art and making something that was mine helped me through it. I’m at the point in my life where I have so much more confidence and energy to keep going. That’s a major lesson for me to always remember. To keep going, to be flexible to navigate those rough times in life that want to bring you down. I have no prospects, artistically or financially, at the moment. I really don’t know why I’m writing all of this, but I have some hope and faith that maybe something will come out of this, whatever this is.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The beaches. Just being near such a beautiful massive amount of water is still mind-blowing to me. And it’s so close by. I’m from Washington, DC and the beach is not the closest thing for someone without a car. So the beaches, especially Santa Monica Beach and Venice Beach, are where we would go. Some seafood places, I love a chill dive bar. Maybe hit up a Karaoke night at one those bars, The Broad Art Museum is perfect to me. I love DTLA, so probably hit up a few spots there as well.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family. They don’t always understand me, but they’ve always tried to and be supportive of whatever I’ve done.

Website: https://linktr.ee/joetheartist

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jolothephoto/

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/joseph-michael-jones/tracks

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BlueSnakeJay

Other: https://vimeo.com/user15871575