Published: February 27, 2008 08:45 pm      

Backstage Pass: Local artist has national acclaim

Jason Cooper is a nationally acclaimed rock poster and logo designer. Among his clients are television stations like MTV and Fuse and artists like My Morning Jacket, Kings of Leon, and Rollins Band. His art has been featured in national publications, including the popular coffee table book, the Art of Modern Rock: The poster explosion. He has no day job, making his living solely as a freelance artist, and he does it all from right here in Meridian.

How did he do it? Patience and the Internet, he says, have been key factors in his success.

"It took a long time (to establish my career)," he said, "I started my first Web site in 1997."

After starting his Web site, Cooper said he sent e-mails to established artists he admired, asking them for advice and exposure, and he got it. "Usually they would give me some good advice," he said, "and sometimes they would pass my stuff along."

Cooper grew up in Snell, just south of Meridian in northern Clarke County, where he said he was a big fan of skateboarding and punk rock.

"I really love skateboards," he said, "designing my own skateboards was one of my dream jobs as a kid."

Though he had always been interested in art, it was being a part of the local music scene that helped Cooper get really involved in the art scene, "I was in a band earlier, but I had more fun designing the fliers for it."

Now, for Cooper, music is more of a hobby, but design is both a passion and a living.

Cooper travels to various art shows, including the Flatstock shows in Austin and Seattle, and says he loves visiting big cities, and finds about 50 percent of his clientele out-of-state, but prefers to keep his home here in Meridian.

"I've been spoiled by the low cost of living," he said. "If I moved to a bigger city, I'd have to have a day job."

Aside from the obvious perk of being able to do what he loves for a living, Cooper's favorite thing about freelancing is the hours. "I never get up before noon," he said. He's not quite so fond of doing all the paperwork involved in running his own business, and says he has to come to terms with having to occasionally draw things he's not that fond of. "That's going to be an issue for the rest of my life as an artist," he said, but he's certainly not looking for another job.

Cooper said his biggest artistic influences are the skateboard graphics of the '80's, the screen-print posters of the '60's, and "all the punk rock bands I ever listened to."

His advice to young artists looking to start a career: "First of all, start a Web site. Send postcards of your art to record labels. Visit forums. And e-mail every artist you've admired."

Cooper has recently begun making fine art prints along with his more promo-centric art, and art from every genre he works with can be purchased at his Web site, www.blackheartstudios.com.