Artist in Focus: Jake Gumbleton
Artist in Focus is an ongoing series featuring hic et nunc artists. Interested in being featured in the series? Please complete this form.
PT: Tell us a little about yourself, including what brought you to hic et nunc.
JG: I studied fine art and have worked in the video game and animation industries for 20 years, maintaining my painting practice in oils, watercolor and gouache on the side. Both personally and professionally, I am very passionate about the climate crisis and what meaningful actions we can take to mitigate its impacts for our children and for future generations who don’t have a voice.
When I found hic et nunc, I was thrilled. It pretty much solves the implicit climate impact that Ethereum is presently saddled with, and it’s also a wonderful creative community. I’ve discovered whole new genres of art on the platform, and it’s been a genuine pleasure to start collecting without exorbitant gas fees.
PT: What’s the story behind the piece you selected to share?
JG: Everyday Beauty 001 is a celebration of nature and beauty. This piece and the others in my Beauty collection are hybrids of traditional and digital media. My introduction to the NFT space pushed me to ask myself some serious questions about my personal art practice like “What is it?” and “Why is it that way?” I’ve been doing daily paintings for a while now (I am at #220 or so), and NFTs offered the chance to take these a step further and blend my traditional and digital skill sets.
PT: Can you share an element of your creative practice?
JG: For Everyday Beauty 001 and my other Beauty NFTs, I usually begin with gouache paintings. Then I’ll scan the painting onto my computer and do a grade or “post” session. After years of working as a character artist, concept artist, illustrator, art director, etc. my brain is now wired to think in terms of production stages, which I find really interesting. So I start to see my paintings almost like raw renders which I then light, comp & grade.
I have also loved playing with the addition of simple geometric elements — a nod to the beautiful generative art pieces that are so prevalent on the hic et nunc platform. It’s amazing how much these elements can shift the focus and balance of a piece.
PT: What’s a recent work that you collected on hic et nunc that you’re excited about and why?
JG: I love this artist, @staticgrain. I bought this recently, but it was hard to choose! I love the bold simplicity and superb graphic design fundamentals in this piece.
PT: What is something you’d like to see for the future of hic et nunc and NFTs?
JG: I see NFTs as potentially instrumental in the climate crisis because they allow money (and therefore power) into the hands of people who do not normally have so much of it. I think a lot of the creatives involved in NFTs will channel their new income into projects that can help with the environment and other important causes. I plan to use some of my income from NFTs to put trees in the ground and am already underway with creating a forest garden and local wildlife forest.
One other thing I’d love to see on hic et nunc is collections along the lines of raribles.
Jake Gumbleton’s collections
More of Jake Gumbleton’s work can be found here.
Beauty Series:
‘If you love your children you must act’ Series:
