We were so lucky, and more importantly inspired, to talk to award-winning artist, designer, and creative director Jason Naylor who fearlessly made a drastic change in his career. Originally working in the Creative Department of MAC Cosmetics, six years later, Jason set out to start spreading his own message into the world through both digital and traditional media. With work ranging from typography and illustration, to products and large scale murals, the immediately recognizable commonality in all of his work is his electric color palette and his positivity.
“I have always been an artist, drawing, coloring, painting even as a kid. My Mom is an artist and very creative and I always loved art classes in school. I went to college for art and design and started my career as a graphic designer, but after a few years of sitting at a computer, I was dying to get out and create from a more free place. I quit my job and began freelancing. Meanwhile, I had discovered how much I loved seeing my work at large scale from designing graphics for events, and I started looking for mural work. I was fortunate to land a gig painting a 50 ft mural for Microsoft during SXSW and since then have seized every mural opportunity I could get my hands on, and at a certain point, I landed an outdoor brick wall and had to paint it with spray paint. Since then I’ve focused on doing as much on the street (outdoor) as possible.”
“Putting your work out there is a pretty common thing for artists to do, and each person has a different way of doing it and also their own ideal place to put it out there, but whether its posting it on IG or painting it on the street, sharing art is essentially sharing yourself. So yeah, its quite vulnerable to do it, but to be honest, I find it to be really empowering to make myself vulnerable to the public. I love leaving messages on the street for people to see and read, and knowing that my messages definitely will resonate with at least SOMEONE, is powerful. And every artist loves the response of the public, (whether they admit it or not), and I really love knowing my work is appreciated. It’s so motivating for me and drives me to make more.”
Artist Jason Naylor On What Inspires His Interactive Murals
“I think the confidence is tied to the vulnerability. You make yourself vulnerable, putting yourself out there, and get a response, a like, a repost, a tagged photo, a thank you, a “I love your work”… and these things all give validation. Which you can then turn into confidence and pour that into your next piece. It’s a cycle. As for putting optimism and confidence into my own work, for me its a formula of message and color. I rely on bright colors to reinforce messages and themes of love, kindness, and positivity and I like to make my designs loud and splashy to grab attention. I want to make sure people see my message and when they do, I want them to have a moment of joy.”
“My biggest risk was quitting my day job to pursue art full time. It was scary AF… but somehow it worked and I’ve been doing this about 10 years now. In the beginning everything felt like it was resting on the shoulders of the thing before it… like the bottom could drop out at any moment. But now I have a rhythm that works and I love it. It was definitely worth the risk.”
What’s next? “I am working on a book that will come out at the end of 2020, which is new for me because its not just art, but a lot of writing as well. It’s a totally new creative outlet for me and it’s been a challenge, but I am excited for the final product and to get it out there for the world :)”
About — Jason Naylor
Reflective Color with Tom Fruin Sculpting from the Ground Up: with Malene B Finding the Extraordinary in the Everyday with Esther Shavon Larisa MartinoNew York-based Jason Naylor secured the commercial artist’s holy grail in May 2019, when French makeup monolith Sephora celebrated its new Times Square flagship. After fifteen years, the graphic designer, artist, and creative director could ultimately count a permanent billboard at the western world’s epicenter amongst his accolades, created to commemorate the retail destination. While Naylor’s style and mission have remained consistent since, he’s forever exploring new avenues for expression. The artist’s first solo show, ‘Reading Between The Lines, ’ recently concluded its run at 150 Grand Street in Brooklyn, marking a new chapter in his adventure.
Naylor’s confectionary color palette and proselytized positivity have garnered considerable acclaim—BUMBLE even named him “One of the 100 Most Inspiring New Yorkers.” The artist’s vibrant streaks of radical joy have animated advertisements for Fenty, Fanta, and Jo Malone alike. He also paints murals prolifically, draping prominent corners in kaleidoscope chromatics, always with a clear message.
As Naylor and I convened over FaceTime to discuss ‘Reading Between The Lines, ’ it struck me that he speaks with the self-assurance of someone who’s survived themselves. Naylor grew up in Salt Lake City and attended Brigham Young University for its in-state tuition and graphic design program. There, he began an exodus from the Mormon faith he’d been born into. “It was socially and culturally complicated for me, but it was a great school, ” Naylor said.
Jason Naylor — Street Art Is Life
The artist’s professional career took off shortly after graduation. He moved to New York City to begin work in the creative department at MAC Cosmetics, a brand which subtly shaped his aesthetic. “I was required to work with a lot of colorful imagery, colorful beauty photography, ” Naylor recalled. He harmonized these new elements with temptations like typography which had drawn him to design in the first place.
“I'm fascinated with this idea of communication, ” Naylor explained. As a designer, he relishes layering new complexities onto the words we comprehend without effort, introducing deeper meanings according to color and shape and shadow.
“The more that I've learned who I am, the more that I’ve found myself, the more it shows in my work and the more people like my work, ” he continued. Now that he’s embraced his inner brightness, Naylor is harnessing that wattage to create upward spirals of dazzling alacrity. “Positivity is a result of optimism combined with hard work and gratitude, ” he stated.
Jason Naylor Keeps Hope Alive
Naylor’s work is pretty, but this doesn’t preclude him from grit or the same principles underpinning radical archetypes. If punk rock is truly the practice of everything anti-establishment, then fostering optimism in a culture of cynics is revolutionary. “I grew up in a place and a family and a culture that says wearing black is what bad people do, getting tattoos is what bad people do, ” Naylor told me. “I have this fantasy of exemplifying happiness with this rock and roll attitude.”
As such, ’Reading Between The Lines’ takes swings at the artist’s comfort zone. While Naylor’s latest series flashed throughout the white-walled pop-up space selected and curated by Beckie Warren of GirlSeesArt with mediums familiar to his practice, the curator helped push Naylor to deconstruct his literal messaging, untangling its components into to something more undone and unassuming.
This divergence marks a profound code switch in Naylor’s relationship to his own work, which often prioritizes efficiency. Pedestrians and passengers are in motion—they need to get the message quickly. “Inside the gallery, ” he contrasted, “I wanted the experience feel a little bit less literal and a little bit quieter.”
Featured Artist: Interview With Utah Artist, Jason Naylor
Creating this space for interpretation provides viewers with new intimacy, a piece of the final product to claim for their own. After years of providing direct communication, Naylor faced the uncertain space between sending and receiving. “Maybe they meet me in the middle and there's some sort of understanding, ” he mused. “I can only say so much, or I can only design so much. The rest of it has to happen intuitively through the emotions that happen when you see the colors or when you see the painting.”
Transitioning from a clear-cut commercial career into the fine art world requires further vulnerability and comfort with uncertainty. “I'm used to having feedback, ” the artist told me. “When you have a commercial job, you know when it's successful because it's approved.”
“Even with street art, you have a gauge for success, ” he continued. “If I put a mural up on the street, I can tell whether people like it by how many people are reposting it.” Meanwhile, in a gallery setting, sales serve the concrete moniker for success. By this metric, ‘Reading Between The Lines’ is a smash hit. However, Naylor understands that abundance doesn’t always translate to quality. “The metric for success has to be that I completed the work, that I'm happy with the work for myself, ” he said.
Jason Naylor: Creatively Positive
Perhaps this is why Naylor’s positivity packs such a punch, whether presented literally or otherwise. “People are so quick, ” the
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