Meet Jacob Bronstein

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Bronstein.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jacob. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
As with a lot of things in my life, I sort of stumbled into the art world by accident. In high school, I had no idea what I wanted out of life. I didn’t really have much passion for education and just floated from class to class in a disinterested haze. I was also a bit of a loner, making friends in a small, rural town is tough. Especially since I spent most of elementary school being the spazz who would frequently get bloody noses and then chase after girls shouting at them to be Dracula’s bride.

Eventually, I took a visual arts class sophomore year of high school and found I was quite good at it. Looking back, most of my portraits looked like overly emotive potatoes, but at the time I was immensely proud of my work.

Through the encouragement of my parents and several very supportive art teachers, I began to excel in my art classes. It was the first time I got positive feedback for pursuing something I truly cared about. As a downtrodden teen with little confidence in myself, art became my shelter and the one thing that validated my existence. When it came time to apply to colleges I fell in love with the cozy small neighborhood-esque vibe of Boston and decided to apply to MassArt.

There, in a sea of poorly dyed neon hair and botched facial piercings I finally found my community of fellow outcasts and freaks. I graduated from Massart last May, a changed and more thoroughly developed artist. Since then I’ve been working hard to build my freelance business as an illustrator and designer. It’s tough to get a foothold in the industry but I will continue to forge my own path, as all those years of uncertainty taught me to do.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Since my professional career is relatively young, my biggest obstacle right now is breaking into the industry. I work full time as a waiter so balancing my daily responsibilities with my artistic pursuits has been tricky. However, I remain optimistic about my future and I’m positive that my talent will be recognized once I make the right connections.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
My aforementioned time spent alone in my head taught me the value of my unique ideas. While growing up, I was constantly striving for original and fresh imagery. Art school challenged me to refine these ideas, to push them to a more polished and fully-realized place. To separate myself from the clean, vibrant look of popular illustration, I cultivated an aesthetic that was dark and grungy, dripping with texture and my personal brand of dark, absurdist humor.

Hiring me sets an employer apart from their competition by giving an audience a bold visual style that won’t be glossed over and forgotten. Through my artwork, I also try to keep in mind the initial feelings of that isolated lost boy. I try to show the original and bizarre person that loneliness taught me to be, while also keeping the imagery relatable and accessible to a wide array of viewers by appealing to our commonly shared emotions. Hopefully someday another lonely kid can feel that connection, two isolated freaks separated by only time and space.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Generally I feel incredibly lucky to have been born into such a supportive family and in a school district that focused on nurturing the arts. But since my career is so young I haven’t found many opportunities for good or bad luck yet. I believe in staying busy and constantly putting forward my best work. That way, when good luck presents itself that hard work will be noticed. If bad luck rolls around, I’ll have my solid routine and pride in my efforts to fall back on.

Contact Info:

• Website: jdbronstein.com
• Phone: 4138543434
• Email: jbronsteinart@gmail.com
• Instagram: pen_i5land

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