Rising Stars: Meet James Short of Oceanside, CA

Today we’d like to introduce you to James Short.

James, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

Hi, I’m a graphic designer and artist who works primarily with paper and mixed media materials — often combining antique or visibly aged items alongside newer and more modern pops of color. As a print specialist, I offer digitally modified print production (and/or analog) commissions for any of my work in any altered size, dimension or color. On occasion, I also make instrumental music under the name ‘bendigai’. I was born in Compton, CA in 1970 and spent my first 9 years in San Diego. From there, I’d done stretches in Spokane, Maui, Seattle, Alaska, Brooklyn, Queens, Maine, and my favorite… 3 years out of a backpack while goofing around and slutting it up around the globe in the early/mid 90s. After having been settled in Seattle for another long stretch, my gorgeous and talented wife of 20 years and I decided to shake things up and move to the beach in downtown Oceanside in 2019.

I had a lot of different jobs before finally finding my spot in graphic design and the occasional art commission. I’ve been a Salad Man, Waffle Host, Ice Cream Scooper, Corporate Law Clerk, Hair Stylist / Chemical Technician, Video Store Clerk, Movie Theater Guy, Alaskan Taxi Driver, Gift Basket Maker, and for a moment, a Normal-Average-Human-Person Model in NYC. Pursuing art and music in my spare time has always been important in keeping my brain in its happiest and most content state. Regularly making things is like a necessity, or brain balm that helps maintain my overall functionality.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

My road, on average, has been incredibly smooth. Personally and historically, I’ve been one of the luckiest people ever – so many instances of great, dumb, cosmic luck… having been born to fantastically decent and kind parents and having a cool and chill, extended family who I love and adore is unbelievably fortunate. I also live in one of the most beautiful places on earth and am married to my best friend. If that wasn’t enough, I’ve also somehow managed to retain enough of my closest, important and true-blue friendships that keep me feeling loved and tethered. That’s 100% everything right there.

As far as bumps go, I guess the biggest would be an otherwise minor health issue that makes my immune system completely useless. Because of it, I’m one of those jerks who’ve never been able to return to ‘normal’ since covid came and stuck around. I found myself in that “Going to fall by the wayside” category. But I’m like, “Screw that, I love my awesome, stupid life as it is!” So I regularly test and wear a well-fitted respirator anytime I’m indoors because half of transmission occurs asymptomatically, it’s airborne – floating around like smoke (up to 3 hours in poorly ventilated spaces), and each infection greatly increases the odds of every other major health headache you could imagine (heart attacks, diabetes, kidney disease, brain damage, cancer, organ failure, immunity theft, long-C…). So, yeah.. I should’ve just said my biggest challenge is not being a gigantic downer and vibe salter.  🙁

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

I do a lot of different things depending on the time and/or wave of influence I happen to be riding. Since last November, I’ve been doing everything I can to distract myself – mostly art-making or preparing. For the last couple decades I’ve kinda been cruising on autopilot… having fun making fairly loose and quick exercises in composition and color— things I liked well enough for regular online art posts. But lately I’ve been wanting to break away from social media more and create just for the sake of creating… to work bigger and try focusing on a single piece at a time and at a slower pace. I’m excited to get back to using more mixed media materials again – mediums, gels, oil paint… I have a fresh desire to attempt making things that could be more substantial or impactful as a ‘thing’ to behold from across a room. Maybe get back to doing some art shows or events again at some point.

I’ve also always been fanatical about music – easily my earliest and sincerest of loves. As a kid in the 70’s I was obsessed with the BeeGees and Fleetwood Mac (as well as JAWS and Star Wars, of course), but for some reason I’ve always been really weird about it, and it’s historically made me the most crazy. To work on music, I have to shut myself away in a separate room while it takes up 1,000% of my attention and undivided focus (I don’t like doing my naive, self-taught, exploratory instrument playing when anyone’s around to hear.) That wouldn’t be a problem if I was single or even mildly unhappily-married, but I love hanging out with my wife and our pets while cutting or tearing paper and making art while we watch TV and eat snacks together. That’s much more of a fun, normal routine existence to have than being alone in a separate room, frustratingly trying to play guitar competently or singling out an annoying frequency range while never being satisfied with how anything sounds after weeks or months of tweaking knobs. Needless to say, it hasn’t been prioritized enough in my life for it to be very good or listenable yet, and although I have a zillion song sketches I’d like to flesh out and document before I’m gone, the present time continues to not be it. So, yeah… my musical output has suffered and is pretty crap as a result. Thanks a lot, happy marriage!

What matters most to you?

Kindness, curiosity and empathy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jshort.art
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jshortdotart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jshortart
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-short-9482092/
• Threads: https://www.threads.net/@jshortdotart
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bendigai/videos
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bendigai/albums
• Other: https://www.flickr.com/photos/argyleplaids/albums

Image Credits
Jennifer Raven, Daria Strategy, Domingo Alvarez, Stephanie Dawn.