Representing the new generation of artists is West Philly’s own Eric Jordan. His interpretation of iconic figures from hip-hop to politics caught the eyes of the Assemble crew. When talking to this cat, I got a cool humble vibe. Eric J lets his talent do all the talking. His work screams the deep passion and love he has for art and the subjects that inspire him. The pieces I’ve seen so far have me curious to see more. Assemble was able to rap with the Philadelphia native about his creative process and current work:
TheFreshMan: How did you get into doing portraits?
EJordanIll: Portraits sort of evolved while in college. I don’t know what really took me to focusing on portraits, but soon I’ll be going into a really expansive style with landscapes and more dynamic pieces to get out of my comfort zone.
TheFreshMan: What type of medium/art tools are you using to produce your work?
EJordanIll: I start off by using a HB pencil and paper that would go into a printer. I then scan the drawing and place it into Photoshop. I paint in Corel Painter, bring it back to Photoshop for backgrounds and small touch ups, and I e-mail it to cool people so I can do it all over again.
TheFreshMan: What is your creative process?
EJordanIll: I begin usually by going to Barnes and Noble, one of my favorite places. Last year that was actually my birthday celebration. All I wanted to do was go to the bookstore. Back to the process though, I go to the bookstore and gather inspiration. I look at layouts, different artists, color and so on then go home, select someone to paint and then it’s on.
After that I find photo reference of the person I’m painting. I usually find about 15 photos of the person and narrow it down to five that resemble them the most to me and are relevant to the feeling and look I want the piece to portray.
When all of the photos are up I pull out the pencil. Sometimes I draw straight on the computer if I’m feeling frisky, and afterward I paint it.
TheFreshMan: What’s your process on choosing the people you draw and what are you working on now?
EJordanIll: It’s based on if I respect them either as an artist, a person or both. This is of course when I’m in control, other times people are selected through the client and I respond with the piece. Everybody I selected, I painted them to show my appreciation to them for being a great artist in their own medium. So people like Kanye, Jay-Z, Biggie, were all picked because I think they are artists that define hip-hop culture through excellent work. Other than that I try to pick people who have had a deep impact in a positive fashion ie: Ghandi, Obama and Elvis.
I don’t know if I’m contradicting myself, but now I’m painting a piece of Steve Urkel from the show “Family Matters.” I chose him because, now, even though its a bit better, people are still down because of the effects of the Recession, so I wanted to bring a sense of humor and put a smile on people’s faces by taking it back and creating a piece that temporarily puts the viewer in a state of happiness. I’m also working on Optimus Prime.
TheFreshMan: How do we get some of your prints and do you take requests on portraits?
EJordanIll: I can be contacted via email at eric@ejordanill.com for any prints or commissions. For some reason people get hesitant when it comes to requests, I’m not sure why but I’m all for requests.
For more information on Eric J, check out his blog. To see his work in full effect, Eric J, along with other Philly artists, will be at the third installment of the Philly Foundation Art Show.
