Jack Soren an artist from Hawaii. He explores different mediums and creative outlets and has found success in his bold graffiti and street art style. We’re fans of how his purposeful lines and flat pastels capture the essence of the surfing experience. With an almost linocut feel, the artworks drag the viewer into happy moments, whether hanging five, surf tripping or sharing a party wave with friends.
We caught up with Jack to find out more about his art and life.
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Hey Jack! How’s your day going?
Howzit! Today has been pretty good, woke up early to get some work done then ate some breakfast with my wife, and now we’re back to work!
Tell us a little bit about your path to artistry?
Well, we all start off scribbling with crayons and color pencils when we are young… I just never stopped. I just continued to practice squiggling with purpose haha. I’ve been very fortunate to have such a supportive home environment where I was encouraged to explore my creativity. I enjoyed doing art when I was young and practised enough to where I was eventually given opportunities to get paid for my work. I got more and more gigs, so my life thus far has been finding new opportunities to continue doing what I’m doing.
Where do you get your inspiration and how do you stay motivated?
I am inspired by other individuals who hustle and work hard, those who burn the midnight oil and have tired eyes. When I graduated college April of 2019, I told myself “I am not getting a job, I’m going to give this my all make sure I don’t have to go back to surf lessons.” I knew that if I did get a job after graduating, I would get stuck and have less time to do what I really wanted to do. So, what motivated/s me is to do anything I can to not have to get a typical job.
What’s your morning routine like? Do you have any rituals that ease you into the creative zone?
I have a lot of respect for those who are diligent with their rituals, and I try my best to stay on top of mine. I usually try to get started at 6 am with reading and some sort of meditation whether it’s actually meditating or prayer. My mind goes nonstop so having a time where I can quite my busy brain is refreshing. Although surfing quiets everything for me, that’s where I find my peace, in the ocean.
Do you have any creative people you strongly admire?
I do! The homies at my studio “The Helm” (Devour and Garydrawsfish) are some of my favorite artists and I’m stoked to be able to work with them every week. Someone else I really look up to because of his work ethic is Kevin Hart, that man is a machine and I can’t imagine how he does it. Another is Tyler the creator as a creative businessman, his style and fashion is a huge inspiration to me.
If you grew up far from the ocean and never heard of surfing what do you think you’d be doing now?
If I was landlocked and didn’t surf, I would be racing dirt bikes. The bike I have now has become more of a street moto but I’m saving up for a new whip to get back into the mountains. My wife’s family goes to the sand dunes in California regularly and we take the bikes up there and get into all kinds of shenanigans. I love it.
Do you have a mantra or words of wisdom to live by?
I hate excuses, if there’s something I want to do or create I find a way to do it and cliché as it is “no excuses” is a common thought running in my mind. As well as “How can I work harder and smarter” I’ve learned that you could have all the artistic talent in the world but if you want to make a living off of it you need to know how to hustle and hustle smart. Lastly, “life is to short”… I would hate to be old one day and think about how I wasted so much time being stressed and disappointed my whole life, so I try my best to take a step back and enjoy being a human making mistakes and living in the moment.
Thanks, Jack, how can people connect with you to find out more?
You can blow me up on the gram @jacksoren I usually respond to DMs, but email is best. You could also check out my website and spend all your hard-earned money at Jacksorenart.com. That’s about it, I don’t tweet or have anything for you to pin, sorry.
