Hi Jamie,
Welcome to Humans of Weston.
We are delighted to have you here, so let’s get to know you better…
Firstly tell us a bit about yourself in a sentence or two…
Well, I am a self taught street artist who goes by my initials JPS. I was born and raised in Weston super mare, but I am now living in Lower Franconia Germany [Bavaria]. After turning away from a life of crime and drug addiction in 2010, I began painting artworks on the streets. Since then life has been quite the rollercoaster – recovery was not a straight line, but thankfully I’m in control these days.
Now a few questions:
How would you describe your art?
I think I have quite a range in my work, from ‘Dad joke’ type shallow stuff, to much deeper subjects like the anti knife piece and drug dealing children, but each and every one of them contains part of my character or have some meaning that I may not have revealed. I am always striving for improvement and sometimes crippled by my own OCD [Obsessive Compulsive Disorder].
Was art a deliberate career choice?
I’m not sure if I looked at it as a career choice. I knew that it was tough to make money as an artist……I did it because I loved it so much and figured that would shine through in my work.
What does your art say about you?
Damn I think I’d need the therapy chair to answer this one. I think it depicts a lot of me. I feel that I paint my demons, especially within the darker horror works in abandoned places. As much as I like making people smile, we all like to be scared now and then I guess and with the funnier stuff you get a glimpse of the sense of humour that has seen me through the darkest days.
What brought you to Weston?
I was born in Weston and grew up mainly on the Bournville estate ‘til aged 17 when I moved closer to town. I slipped into full addiction around 20 years old and it went on for twelve years, until I really hit rock bottom.
How has Weston been a part of your creativity?
I guess it has shaped the artist you see today, Weston has also been great from the beginning at embracing street art, which in turn drove me to keep going 🙂
Where are your favourite places in Weston to seek out inspiration?
My favourite place I used to go to think was Milton cemetery.
Has anyone in Weston supported or influenced you?
My mum has been incredible, she let me live rent and bill free for the first 5 years of JPS. She refused to ever take anything, she was just happy that I was trying to succeed. I hope to repay her oneday for how great she has been. It wasn’t easy for her to bring up me and my brother Lee, which for most of our lives was on her own.
What advice would you give to young artists in the town?
It is a great time for young artists particularly in Weston, both North Somerset council and other local places like the civic society are pledging to get behind more street art projects. It’s hard to give advice in such a difficult field, but be yourself and paint want you love and you should find others who feel the same 🙂
What are you creating at the moment, or what is next?
I have plans to go to Astoria in Oregon USA to paint on the house from the original Short Circuit movie. This opportunity came up after I featured the robot ‘Johnny 5’ in an artwork. The house is becoming a movie museum and bed and breakfast. I also plan on returning to Weston with lots of new work and working with a few local charities, however the Corona crisis is preventing dates being pinned sadly.
To find out more about Jamie and his work as JPS, click the links below:
https://www.facebook.com/JPSstreetart
https://www.instagram.com/jps_artist/
For a map of local work by JPS visit:
For information and support with OCD, please click the images below:
For information and support with addiction, please click the image below:
