Grateful Dead and Inspiration

You may of noticed a heavy influence in a lot of my work from the Grateful Dead and now a little bit of Phish. 

To tell you the truth, I didn't even know about the grateful dead until about a year ago maybe. I was fishing with Capt. Harry in Charleston, and I was pulling his truck up from the boat ramp and he had it playing in his car. That was the moment where I thought "man I dig that band." It was awesome because not only did I really like their music, but there was a lot of depth to it. Pretty much as much depth as I would want to give the band. 

At first I listened to studio albums, then I started listening to the live concerts. That's when you really become a big fan. I think the lyrics and their example of doing what you love really impacted my career as a fish artist. I really do get inspired by bands like them, even though they seem so-so on the outside... there is a ton of depth and a ton of success. It almost seems like they are doing exactly what they want (or maybe even meant to do) and it sorta fits perfectly in that moment of time.

I love that when you are so into that moment of doing something you love, but there is really no logical explanation for you to be doing it and then it turns out to be exactly what you should of been doing. I feel that way when I am truly being artistic in the sense that I am drawing or painting something that I've never done before in a way that I've never done before.

Sometimes if I get too into my work and get in a rut of commissions (no offense, I love commission work) then I break away for a day or two. I try to get back to why I'm an artist. I sorta take time to think, maybe explore a little bit and get refreshed. Then I come back to the drawing desk and think about what hasn't been done before and still would fulfill me. Often times, these are the pieces where the original sells quickly and where companies are contacting me to buy the rights. 

That's sort of a glimpse into my creative side. Grateful Dead has forever inspired me to do what I love based on their example. Even their lyrics like "a foolish heart will lead you astray, then turn around and blame you for the way you went astray" inspire me. On the other side, I've had a great deal of simple grateful dead- fishing association. Meaning I always listen to grateful dead either on the way to go fishing or while fishing and it's the perfect combo.

Thanks for reading!

-Jay