Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tom (Jay) Janssen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Tom , so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
When speaking about confidence and self esteem with my art it reminds me of the mental journey I took as a young and inexperienced artist. I recall seeing people’s art in galleries, coffee shops, interior and exterior walls all around the twin cities here in Minnesota. I remember thinking my art would never be good enough to be on display to the public or how I strongly felt like I simply wasn’t good enough for that type of exposure. Being an introverted artist it was sort of uncomfortable for me if someone came up to me and as I would be drawing in my sketchbook and sparking up a conversation of what I would be sketching. Over time I got a bit more confident with my work as people would often give me plenty of compliments, which was very nice to hear and I would always be more than appreciative of others feedback. Eventually some of my favorite local artists would message me through social media to compliment me on my drawings that I would post and I think that’s when I really started to feel more comfortable with my artwork. Seeing the older artists who were in galleries or painting large murals on walls started contacting me and wanting to get coffee or just have a sketch session. I was still incredibly shy, but the more these artists reached out to me, the more confident I got over time. Eventually my work transferred from the sketchbook to walls where the public could watch me as I would paint. However, the many, many years of practice with spray paint was paying off and instead of being intimidated without painting in the comfort of my own home, I was having a lot of fun! My confidence grew but I always kept my feet on the ground. No longer was I worried about what others thought of my work if it was negative, but now I was battling against myself. I was challenging myself, trying to out do myself and go head to head with myself as everything around me faded away. I can finish a piece of art or mural and be happy with the end result for a short while, but very soon afterwards I would point out all of the flaws and I’d make a mental note to improve in certain areas for the next project. When you stop comparing yourself to others and you start comparing yourself to you, that’s when the fun starts!
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My name is Tom Janssen but I also go my pseudonym Tom Jay. My focus right now is my art and mural career here in the twin cities in Minnesota. I’ve been an artist my whole entire life, ever since I was old enough to hold a pencil. I recall drawing in preschool and I was using perspective with a vantage point on a piece of paper. I was a crafty kid, I loved making arts and crafts. I would always carry a sketchbook around during family events when I was younger and my relatives would always tell me that I was going ton grow up to be an artist. As I got older I never imagined myself to actually become a full time artist, but here I am!
I specialize with spray paint, however I also like to dabble with acrylics, epoxy, woodworking and sculpture. I was first introduced to spray paint when I was in sixth grade and that’s also when I was introduced to graffiti and typography. I come from a street art/graffiti background but I’ve evolved to really enjoy painting realism with spray paint. Lettering will always have a special place in my heart and I still get excited when I see old Victorian lettering or clean scripture lettering with beautiful flourishes. There is just something about a clean hand painted serif font that attracts my eyes so much, I really don’t know how to put this attraction in words.
I’m apart a local mural collective called City Mischief Murals with Thomasina TopBear and others, and I’m also apart of another mural and educational program called SprayFinger with my friend and mentor; Peyton Scott Russell. If I’m not apart of a project with either of those groups I’ll be working in partnership with Jared Hanks and his creative agency called Modern Day Me, or I’ll be working on a solo mural by myself. Sometimes I’ll have a fellow artist or upcoming artist join me (depending on the timing and situation of the project) to work alongside them and teach them a few pointers about murals or working with spray paint. However, these creatives I call upon already have some sort of experience with the craft and I know I can count on them to help get the job done. Personally for me, mapping out a mural or figuring out placement and scale of objects is like a puzzle. I’ll have my headphones in and listening to music but I’ll often find myself talking to myself while painting and all around just having a really fun time doing something that I love. It’s really just a much larger art project in my eyes and I’ve grown from making art projects for fun as child to making a living off of it. It doesn’t even feel like a job most of the time.
The more I paint, the more I wanted to expand my artist horizon with all types of creative services. I want to learn as many different art forms (relating to advertising and murals) as possible so I can take on more unique jobs. The goal for me is to be as versatile as possible. So far I can offer services with spray paint such as lettering, realism, cartoons, typography, or I can do all of those with latex paint if preferred. I can also do much more for whatever the job requires. I can offer signage and I just learned how to do window splashes which is window advertisements or actual pictures painted on windows. I want to dabble more with airbrushing and pin stripping. I have a lot to teach but so much more to learn and improve on.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
When I was younger, around high school and some college I was incredibly mindful to small details in my 2D art. I had so much patience so sit and work on an inked piece for hours and hours. It was almost an obsession I had with experimenting with line weight and small amounts of detail. I just wanted to impress myself with what I created and I always pushed myself. But I didn’t go about pushing myself in a healthy way when I was younger. I often disliked what I would make and I always felt like I should be way ahead artistically then where I was at the time. I think comparing myself to other pieces of art done by artists who were way more experienced than myself was also another unhealthy way of pushing myself. Nowadays I’ve gotten a bit better in this area and I’ve learned to accept and enjoy or to be proud of what I make. I worked really hard mentally and physically to get where I’m at with myself and my career and it feels like I’m only at the beginning of my career still which is kind of sort of true if you look at the bigger picture. I think the hard work, attention to detail and being mindful of my physical and mental health were very important lessons to for me to learn to get where I’m at. And of course there’s always room for improvement in all of those areas, so it’s a never ending life lesson to me. I believe in being patient with ones self is important if they’re first starting off their career in any field of profession. In the beginning of my mural career all I wanted to do was paint and take on all of the jobs and slowly over time I was able to achieve this. However my issue was I was taking on multiple jobs at once because I was worried I wouldn’t have work afterwards which lead me to become burnt out and severely overworked. Learning to pace yourself and being nice to your body is important. Or if things aren’t taking off the way you want them to, just keep going. Art will always be there. In the beginning for me, I offered several people a free, small mural of a design both parties could agree on. This helped me build my small portfolio and it have viewers a chance to see what I was capable of doing. There was a time I had to get a full time job because I didn’t make enough money to survive the winter (slow season) when I first started out and I felt like such a failure. But art was waiting for me when spring time came. Making connections is huge! I can’t tell you how many jobs I’ve landed because friends, acquaintances or even strangers who I’d never met before would recommend me for mural jobs. Remaining humble yet, confident in a healthy manner is fairly important also. After all, it’s just paint!
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
For the last few years I’ve been wanting to move out of Minnesota to a larger city to help expand my career opportunities, but every time I save up enough money something happens. Either life just happens or my lease to my home isn’t up for another few months or winter happens. Whatever the reason may be, it’s been a challenge to pack up most of my belongings and head to a city I’ve finally confidently felt I could expand my art career in which is Atlanta, Georgia. I love Minnesota, it will always be my home. I was born in Guatemala City and when I was a baby I was adopted and brought to the United States, specifically Saint Paul, Minnesota. I’m half Guatemalan and half Mayan. I ended up moving to Minneapolis as an adult but I’ve never moved out of state before. The thought of moving out of state gives me feelings of both enthusiasm and sorrow. My parents and family are here, my friends are here, I know the layout of both cities like the back of my hand. As I’m so busy with growing my career I often forget that my parents are silently getting older. I’m eager to leave and spread my wings but I’m also nervous of the thought ‘what if I don’t make it down there and I have to move back home?’ Making that final leap and moving out of state reminds me of a similar feeling I had when I really wanted to be a professional artist as a young teenager. Before I was a full time artist I had a normal full time job and I was always working long hours for my shifts which resulted in very few days off. After a few years of this, COVID hit. The company I worked for shut their doors for good during this time. Then the riots started here in Minneapolis for the murder of George Floyd. It was a really hard time for everyone, but in a way it sort of helped me make that leap into becoming a full time artist and muralist. Without any work available and lots of time on my hands, I was invited out to paint some wooden boards covering the windows of a business with a positive message relating to the current events in the city. As the day’s went on, I was invited to paint more business windows/wooden boards. I was painting anywhere from two to five businesses a day during this time. I never once asked for any type of payment from anyone and I used almost all of my spray paint I had saved up. I just wanted to help make a small impact during those rough times and getting out of the house and painting was my favorite thing to do, and still is. Afterwards, I was asked to assist with several murals with Peyton Scott Russell. This was the very start of my professional career. He put his time and trust into me when it come time to assisting him with a few mural jobs with payment. I remember telling my mother about how much I loved using spray paint for murals and earning a decent living with it. I remember her asking me “are you sure you want to do this [instead of looking for another full time job]?” Of course I already knew my answer.
It makes me think what if my job never shut down, would I have ever made the leap for becoming a full time artist? What would have happened if I didn’t? What if I tried and I didn’t succeed? Moving out of state to expand my portfolio and mural/art opportunities is giving me the same thoughts and feelings. I already have a few connections down in Atlanta and I could most likely land a backup on-call job that I can resort to, sort of how I have it here in Minnesota. It’s a back up job for when things are slow but it’s really relaxed when it comes to my schedule and I can accept or decline work but over the years I haven’t resorted to it too much because art has taken up a lot of my time these days. Making the decision has been a bit of a challenge, but if I don’t try then how will I ever know what could happen? I think this year, 2024 is the year to expand. “Roam if you must, but come home when you’ve seen enough” -Atmosphere
Contact Info:
- Website: My website isn’t up to date and is going to be undergoing construction soon. But it’s www.artbytomjay.com
- Instagram: @teejay.art
