Authors at Home: 5 Questions with Artist, Activist, and “Live Life Colorfully” Author Jason Naylor
This week’s spotlight Q&A is with award-winning artist and activist Jason Naylor, author of the bright, bold, and inspiring new book Live Life Colorfully!
What are you currently reading/watching/listening to? Anything exciting or inspiring that you’d recommend?
I am currently reading Purple Cow, by Seth Godin. It’s a book about marketing, and the basic premise and principle of the “purple cow” is that if you develop a product that is inherently unique, it will market/sell itself.
If you can only pick one thing, what do you want readers to take away from Live Life Colorfully?
Joy. Plain and simple.
You recently designed an entire suite for The Fifty Hotels and Suites in Manhattan! What was it liked translating your splashy, vivid art style to interior design?
Translating my style to interiors was interesting because I didn’t want the decor to compete with the art on the walls. I wanted the the decor to almost camouflage into the art. So I used clear acrylic tables and a muted grey rug and sofa, so that it would basically disappear. I wanted it to be completely anonymous apart from the few iconic pieces like the checkered rug which seems to be part of the art itself, and the painted chairs which also blend right into the walls. It was fun thinking about the big picture in this space, and of course, thinking about the photos people would take. I didn’t want anything in the room to become an eye sore in ANY possible photo angle someone might choose. The ENTIRE space needed to 100% Instagrammable.
What new art projects should we be keeping an eye out for? What are you excited to be working on right now?
I have a solo show coming up in March, where I will unveil a new body of work. The show is titled, “Reading Between the Lines” and it’s an exploration of our need to express, communicate, connect and be heard, as human beings, but contrasted with our struggle to actually do so. It’s very analogous to the current social climate because so many of us desperately need the one thing we can’t really get… human connection. I’m excited to unveil my paintings and a few sculptures that reflect all of this!
Last year presented so many challenges in all areas of life — what are you looking forward to in 2021, both professionally and personally?
With challenges come growth, opportunities, progress… I am excited to have the opportunity to create work that addresses the current challenges, and I hope to create a sense of positivity and hope for my community with my work. Professionally, I feel that 2021 is going to be an explosive year. We have all been pent up and are ready to burst and I am ready to take on everything that comes my way. Personally I am constantly evolving, and I am better now than I was yesterday, so I feel prepared. Let’s do this!
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Visit Jason’s website at https://jasonnaylor.nyc/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonnaylor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jasonnaylornyc
Get a copy of Live Life Colorfully at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1797203800
