Jordan Beecham has always been an artist. By the time he graduated high school, he had taken an advanced placement course in which his focus was painting, as well as illustrated his own comic book that was used in an English course. He is a graduate of Savannah College of Art Design (B.F.A. in sequential art, 2014). His art work was used in the film 10 Cloverfield Lane. Jordan has also worked as a Property Assistant for Disney TV for the movie "The Invisible Sister". He has an art showcase coming up at the end of December: December 23, 2017, 2:00p.m. - 4:00p.m. Castle Rock Rec Center. The Studio Room. 2301 Woodland Blvd. Castle Rock, CO
1. How did you get to where you are as an artist?
I think the best way to answer the question: desire is what got me to where I am as an artist today. I had a desire at a young age to draw, I’m not exactly sure when the first time I drew was. I remember fondly getting into trouble for drawing in class for what ever the reason that took up my attention in my other classes. Where I grew up I was fortunate enough to have an art program in all my schools. Education would be the other main reason that I have an understanding for art. I took every opportunity I had to learn more about art while also creating it in class without getting into trouble. After high school I attended art school at Savannah College of Art and Design and it was there I honed my skills at figure drawing, though I believe you never stop learning.
2. Is this your first art showcase?
I look at my showing on December 23 as my first real showcase. I have had my work on display in the classroom setting. I consider this showcase to be my first real one.
3. What was it like having your work included in a Hollywood movie (10 Cloverfield Lane) and how did you get that opportunity?
You know honestly it was pretty surreal at the time. I mean it was like it wasn’t real, and I think that has everything to do with the second part of your question. How I got the opportunity, well believe it or not I got the job through Craigslist. Actually, at first I didn’t get the job. I received a response back from my email saying the job was filled. Weeks later a prop master by the name of Janna Roach contacted me. I meet up with Janna under the impression that this was some student film. I come to find out that she worked on some huge films and TV, The Twilight saga, True Detective, Jurassic World, Terminator Genisys. I have to give all the credit to her. I mean she had me hooked after the first meeting. I was working on the drawings as quickly as I could. I was taught the importance of meeting deadlines and I was eager to please. To answer the question of what It was like to see my drawings on the big screen, it nothing short of a dream come true.
4. Who or what inspires you?
I think other people’s success inspires me. I see all these talented artists on social media and I think what can I contribute to this melting pot of passion and creativity. I mean, it really is an amazing time for art. I look on Instagram and I’ll see so many artists with their own style, and some that have similar accounts to other people. This network of creatives inspires me to explore what I think can make an image stand out, to make a portrait something a little more than just a picture of someone’s face. Just yesterday I was looking at a fellow artists’ account who was from Brazil and she had a post that was really helpful in creating a hair texture. It was a technique I had never seen or used before that inspired me to keep trying new things explore.
5. Do you have any advice for aspiring artists or creatives?
I see young people now making art accounts as early as 14 years old and I think that is a great thing because I’ve found that people like to see someone’s progression as an artist. They go “hey wow, look at that in just 2 years that person got so good maybe if I just stick with it and push myself I can get better too.” I would also say that the most important thing about being a good artist is to develop your eye to see when things are off. If your eye for what you are looking at isn’t objectively true, your representation of the real world in a 2-dimensional form will be off. My last piece of advice (and I learned this the hard way), and this is what an artist will spend 90% of their doing, and that’s creating the art, it has to be fun. Creating the art can’t become a chore. It has to be something you like doing so if you are drawing or working on some subject matter you don’t really care for, then schedule your time to where a portion of your time creating goes to something you enjoy working on to reward yourself. Who says you only have to work on one piece at a time?
