 iego Jacobson is an emerging artist who began to paint in 1999, after completing a Masters in Practical Spirituality. His paintings are an outlet for his subconscious thought and spirituality. They are composed in an abstract expressionist style using brush and drip techniques.
Taking his initial inspiration from the paintings of The Beatles band member Paul McCartney Jacobson has developed a very fast style - working with acrylics and spending only a few hours on each painting. This has led to a vast body of work that he promotes with advertising campaigns in major magazines such as Art News.
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Diego Jacobson
Protector
2008
Acrylic on Canvas
25 x 30 inches
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In 1988, Jacobson began running his own business selling cloths to the U.S. government. The financial stability this presented has allowed him to paint leisurely. Jacobson had his first show in Galleria Calle de Cristo in San Juan, Puerto Rico and to date he has had over 25 solo exhibitions internationally. Diego Jacobson is currently living and working in Palmas del Mar in Southeast Puerto Rico.
Diego Jacobson: I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1964. My family moved to New York when I was 2 years old. Then, when I was 10 years old I contracted a condition called Dystonia, which made it very difficult to walk and write. When I was 13 I had brain surgery to cure it - which was obviously a major event in my childhood.
Art Interview: What did your parents do for a living?
Diego Jacobson: My mother was a psychologist and my father was in the government contracting industry. He started off as a sewing machine mechanic and ended up owning his own business.
Art Interview: Was your family relatively affluent?
Diego Jacobson: No, not until I was 15.
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Diego Jacobson
Condado
1999
Oil on Canvas
30 x 40 inches
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Art Interview: Did your family encourage you to become an artist?
Diego Jacobson: No. When I was young, I drew, just like any other child. At some point I stopped because I judged it as not very good. When I began to paint in my thirties, I drew just like I did as a child. Now, I consider that to be my style.
Art Interview: How old were you when you started seriously working as an artist?
Diego Jacobson: It was 1999, so I was 35.
Art Interview: Did you study art?
Diego Jacobson: No. I started to paint when I finished a Masters program in Practical Spirituality, which in essence taught me not to judge. It was then that I felt free enough to draw without worrying if my work was good or not. Soon I began to receive positive responses to my work and someone suggested that I should show my work professionally.
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Diego Jacobson
Father Time
2009
Acrylic on Canvas
25 x 35 1/2 inches
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In addition to working as a professional artist I have owned a business since 1988 selling clothing to the US government.
Art Interview: Were you living in Puerto Rico at that point?
Diego Jacobson: Yes, when I was 15 my family moved to Puerto Rico and my father began his business. After I graduated from high school I went to Clark University near Boston, Massachusetts. Then I moved back to Puerto Rico.
Art Interview: Were you working for the company that your father owned?
Diego Jacobson: I started working there, and then, after 3 years, began my own company.
Art Interview: Was your business established by the time you began painting?
Diego Jacobson: Yes, it was established in 1988 and I started painting in 1999. Things were going very well with the business and I started to spend my time on other things that interested me, such as painting and music.
Art Interview: How have you been able to balance running a business and working as an artist?
Diego Jacobson: Well, running a business is another form of expression for me. Also, I don’t have to depend on the sales of paintings in order to live. I have the freedom to paint what and when I want.
Art Interview: Did you have any role models who inspired you to become a painter?
Diego Jacobson: I was inspired to begin painting when I got hold of a catalogue of paintings by Paul McCartney. This shifted my perception of what art is. Before that period I thought of art in terms of Goya and Rembrandt - who never really moved me. But when I was introduced to abstract expressionist painting it shook me. I began to really appreciate art and started researching artists like De Kooning and Picasso.
Art Interview: What steps did you take to work as a professional artist?
Diego Jacobson: I had about 100 paintings completed when a friend of mine, who is an artist, invited me to put some of my paintings in his show. Afterwards I received a write up, and one thing led to another. I’ve done about 25 solo shows around the world now. It was really just a question of getting started.
Art Interview: Did you have difficulties approaching galleries with your work?
Diego Jacobson: I never tried to talk to galleries. My first gallery show came about when I was invited by a friend to show at Galleria Calle de Cristo, in old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was a nice gallery but it is no longer there.
Art Interview: How many hours do you work as an artist?
Diego Jacobson: I only paint around 6 hours a week. I paint for an hour or two per day.
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Diego Jacobson
Baby bubble
2006
Acrylic on Canvas
11 3/4 x 12 inches |
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Art Interview: Were you aware of the contemporary art scene when you began painting?
Diego Jacobson: Not really. I just painted a lot, people explained to me how things worked and I started to implement what they told me.
Art Interview: How did you set your initial prices without any background in the professional art world?
Diego Jacobson: Over the past 9 years my prices have doubled. I initially looked around to see what other emerging artists were selling similar sized canvases for and set my prices higher. I can afford not to sell my paintings and I’d prefer to keep my paintings for my children than give them away for a low price.
Art Interview: What are your average prices today?
Diego Jacobson: Generally a 30x40 inch painting will sell for between $8,000 and $15,000.
Art Interview: Is that your average painting size?
Diego Jacobson: I paint a wide variety of sizes. I also like to work on a large scale. I have made paintings that are 9x8 feet. Nevertheless, I also paint many in the 12 x 12 inch size.
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Diego Jacobson
Independent Thought,
2007
Acrylic on Canvas
48 x 52 inches |
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Art Interview: How long have you been represented by New Art Concepts gallery?
Diego Jacobson: 3 years. I knew the owners and they asked me to show with them.
Art Interview: How did you meet them?
Diego Jacobson: They were friends of friends.
Art Interview: How many paintings do you produce in a month?
Diego Jacobson: I produce about 100 to 150 a year - so in total, I have produced around 1,100 paintings. It varies though; there are months when I will not paint anything and months when I paint 40 paintings. There is no real pattern, I like to paint at least 1 a week, but sometimes I can paint 5 a week. The more paintings I produce, the better the result. Out of 10 paintings, I produce maybe 2 or 3 that I consider great, so the more I produce, the more great ones accumulate.
Art Interview: How did you develop your painting style?
Diego Jacobson: The first year and a half I tried to find out what my style was by painting a bit of everything. I found that abstract expressionism worked really well for me. As I’ve learned various techniques I have incorporated them into the paintings. I started to do drip paintings by accident. I normally do not use a palate. I was putting some color directly onto my canvas by dripping it. I really liked it and thought it would be bold to just leave the painting as it was. People really liked it too, so I started to incorporate dripping into my other paintings. I try not to be formulaic. I like to create new processes and new forms of expression. I am always looking for new ways to paint.
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Diego Jacobson
Peace in times of chaos
2007
Acrylic on Canvas
36 x 48 inches
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Art Interview: What materials do you prefer to work with?
Diego Jacobson: I like to paint with acrylic on canvas because I paint fast and a lot. I have done various oil paintings but they are very slow to dry and they smell strong, so I prefer to paint with acrylic as they dry in an hour or so and then I can continue.
Art Interview: Why do you create art?
Diego Jacobson: Because I like the magic behind it, for me it is a mode of expression. I channel energy into the paintings and after an hour or so when I feel it may be finished, I look at it and start to see faces and objects in it that I did not purposefully paint. Each painting takes on a life of its own. It’s like a Rorschach test - where you put some ink on a piece of paper, fold it in half, open it and ask the patient, ‘what do you see?’ Some people see an ocean whereas some see an animal - the paintings are the same, but each viewer brings their own interpretation to it. I feel the paintings express a communication with the spectators’ subconscious. It is through the subconscious, through intuition and emotions that we communicate with spirit. I have had shows in universities where art professors have come to see my paintings and have started crying - to me that is magical.
Art Interview: Do you find that your subconscious comes through unintentionally onto the canvas?
Diego Jacobson: Absolutely. Often I am not aware when it happens, sometimes I will look back at a painting and realise what was going on in it. There is a combination of conscious and subconscious processes going on to produce the end result.
Art Interview: Have you ever produced a piece of work and felt that it was too revealing?
Diego Jacobson: No.
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Diego Jacobson
The spiritual promise
2007
Acrylic on Canvas
30 x 40 inches
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Art Interview: You studied practical spirituality - how does that experience tie into what you are doing?
Diego Jacobson: I studied practical spirituality, which is not religion. The most important thing I learned from it, like I said before, was not to judge. Everything is perfect in its own imperfections. It is not up to you to judge or consider why it is perfect or not. Often I think that I finish a painting in one session, but sometimes I will continue on another day. That is perfect too.
Art Interview: Do you work on multiple canvases at the same time?
Diego Jacobson: I try not to; I like to complete things. Sometimes if I am not happy with a painting I will start another and then come back to it. I do not sign a painting until it is finished. As long as it is unsigned I still give myself permission to paint on it.
Art Interview: Has your experience working in business given you an advantage in building an art career?
This oral history transcript is the result of a digitally recorded interview with Diego Jacobson on July 7, 2008 and updated on May 17, 2009. The interview took place over the telephone between Berlin, Germany and Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico and was conducted by Brendan Davis for Art Interview Online Magazine.
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