Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Augustine.
Jason, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Oh geez, where to begin? Haha. Well, I always had a fascination with the arts since a young age. I was obsessed with movies, photography, music, illustrations, comics, etc. So when someone would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I told them I wanted to be everything… from a cartoonist to a cinematographer, to a skateboard photographer, to being in a rock ‘n’ roll band, essentially anything creative. But as time went on, I really found my best fit was with cinema and photography. My dad gave me his 35mm Canon AE-1, showed me how to use it and from there I was hooked. I started skateboarding at a young age and became enamored with skate magazines & skate videos. Skateboarding took a toll on my body & teeth, I knocked them out…so I slowed it down and started getting heavily into snowboarding & going to punk shows. I got a cheesy high school job and from there I saved up some money and with a little help from my parents bought a Canon GL2 miniDV tape camera. I started making snowboard videos like crazy with my friends. I learned how to edit on my own and next thing you know I was doing little short films, projects for my high school TV channel, and other small paid gigs.
I ended up moving to Santa Barbara for college. I started as a double major focusing on Film and Media Studies as one major and Communication as my other. The workload, working almost full time in retail and trying to have a social life really took a toll. So I dropped Film and Media Studies my senior year and got my BA in Communication. It was all good though because it gave me more free time to experiment with photo and video on my own terms. And from there I got a job working at Volcom in Orange County. Now, I wasn’t doing a creative job, haha but I was in a really cool environment working in the same building with a lot of talented creative people. They used some of my film photography for their featured artist series (a couple times) so it was cool to see my name and photos on their tees and hoodies. That kinda gave me some credibility and from there I decided to go back to school to focus on graphic design. I made some connections in the industry and ended up landing a job at Brixton. I started as a photo & design intern and worked my way into being a designer for almost five years. And for the past two years, I’ve been working as the Associate Art Director where I juggle everything creative under the sun, from graphic design, video production, art directing, etc.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
So my art can kind of be all over the place but it mainly lies in the cinema and photography world. I absolutely love photography and I’ve been fortunate to travel a lot. So I really enjoy photographing people whether they are portraits, documentary style, or street style. On the other hand, I got really into rock ‘n’ roll photography. I was living in North Park for a while and I was going out a couple of times a week to see live music. One thing led to another and I ended up shooting a lot of music photography for Brixton. I would say my photography style is raw yet refined. I like being in the moment and capturing real people and emotions while doing my best to get a quality image. Essentially I want to tell a story with my photos. I want to show the feelings and emotions behind the person and the situation. As for video, the majority of my work has been commercial. Thanks to social media and the digital age the demand for commercial video work is high. However, I’ve been working on some side projects with a friend who attends NYU. We are working on some smaller indie documentary style work. So I’m really excited about it. I’m hoping it leads me down a road I’ve been wanting to take for a long time – documentary filmmaking. Again, for me, it goes back to capturing real moments and telling a story. I think whether it’s photography or video work, my end goal is to meet people and tell their story.
What do you know now that you wished you had learned earlier?
Work hard, stay positive, and do exactly WHAT YOU WANT…but don’t kill yourself to get there. Keep yourself sane and inspired. I have a tendency to overwork myself or take on too much. I recommend not doing that. Also, it’s easier said than done, but don’t let “life” get in the way of your dreams. Get out there and do what you’re passionate about. Make it work for you. Don’t let your job or societal responsibilities hold you back. Ultimately, pace yourself, have perseverance, and stay positive.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
For now, people can see more of my work at my Vimeo, Instagram, and Tumblr pages. I know it’s not the greatest way to showcase everything I do but it’s a start until I finalize my website.
https://vimeo.com/jasonaugustine
https://www.instagram.com/_jasonaugustine/?hl=en
https://jasonrobertaugustine.tumblr.com/
Also, be on the lookout for photo & zine shows. I’ve had solo shows at Subterranean Coffee Boutique in North Park & Hillcrest and I’ve been a part of a few groups shows at La Bodega Gallery in Barrio Logan. I’ve also been a part of the TJ and SD zine fests in the past. So expect more to come in the near future! If you want to support hit me up for a print or a zine!
Lastly, if you ever come across Brixton’s website or Instagram, you can get a feel for my day to day commercial work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vimeo.com/jasonaugustine
- Email: jasonaugustine1@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_jasonaugustine/?hl=en
- Other: https://jasonrobertaugustine.tumblr.com/
Image Credit:
All photos © Jason Augustine
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