Meet Jonathan Heit

We were lucky to catch up with Jonathan Heit recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jonathan, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
Creativity is something we are all born with. Playing cops and robbers, kings and queens, galloping like a horse or roaring like a dinosaur. At some point we are put in chairs and told to quiet coyote, or shave and a haircut. We are given paper with thin lines or boxes and told to color inside. Creativity becomes something you have to sign up for. Extra curriculars which happen in the late afternoon become a drive away and the car stops being a submarine.

We are born with an innate sense of creativity and must learn to find it when at times it seems lost. I was extremely fortunate to start working in a creative field at such a young age. I fell into theatre when I was too young to really talk. At the age of two I starred in Macbeth at my local preschool as Thunder. If you don’t remember this character, you can find it in the tragedy’s line breaks where scary ambiance is needed. After perfecting my craft of thrashing and crashing, I earned my way to center stage where my words were still relatively incomprehensible as one of 5 camels. We split the rather long dialogue for a 4 year old into 5 parts, but some took notice that I would mouth the lines of every member of the camel crew.

By some butterfly effect this later led me to the office of a Hollywood agent at the prime age of 4 years and one half. My career would begin here. Allowing me to professionally play pretend. Returning to my inner child on a daily basis and being paid to do it. Tough life. I was encouraged and often forced to be creative. Sink or submarine.

I didn’t, however, escape the impending creative straight jacket of adult life forever. After starting Heit Gallery in 2020 the weight of adulthood, of owning my own company, bills, taxes, and whatever other lines to color in society imposes on children with years behind them became a heavy burden on my creative side. Nowadays, no one is forcing me to be thunder, to pick up a guitar, speak in a made up language. In the quiet moments before sleep lying in bed staring at the ceiling, I clench my jaw and grind my teeth. What do I have to do tomorrow, what time do I set my alarm, how do I word that email, who should I reach out to sell that Jake Inez print? Right then, I have a complete lack of creativity. I am so consumed with the result and what rules I should follow to reach it that I lose sight of the journey and how many different routes I can take. These routes of winding roads always being the most fulfilling and full of adventure.

AND THEN, as my eyes close and my mind forgets the silence, the thunder returns. The horses gallop and the dinosaurs roar. Cardboard boxes turn to castles with towers made of snow. Dragons with reading glasses. We are wired to be creative. To create. We do it for hours every night; creating worlds and tearing them down like they were Jenga blocks just to start again.

And when we wake up, we forget, and return to coloring inside the lines. The world stunts creativity by packaging it up.

SO how do I keep my creativity alive? I don’t. It’s very much alive and always will be. It’s finding my creativity where I left it that I do as often as I can. Be a kid. Surprise yourself. Sing a song. Make up a language. Try new things. Surround yourself with people that don’t walk in a line. This is a big one for me, people influence where I use my creativity which in turn unlocks new facets of it. So, if you aren’t inspired by the people around you, go find inspiration yourself. Find an adventure. Say yes. Find quiet. Find a new place. Climb a mountain. Swim in a fountain. Stop taking everything so seriously.

We are all born creative. It’s just a matter of returning to your thunder; when people applauded you for walking and congratulated you for playing Camel #5; when gibberish was a language and crayons were handed out at restaurants. Your creativity is already there. You’ve already dreamt about your next big idea. Talked about it gibberish. Drawn it in the sand. 

When beloved childhood store Toys r Us closed its doors they left us with a surprisingly powerful and emotional message. One that I believe is my way of keeping my creativity alive:

“…To every grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother and sister who’s built a couch-cushion rocket ship, made up a hero adventure, or invented something gooey. Promise us just this one thing: Don’t ever grow up. Play on!” – Geoffrey the Giraffe.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
When I tell people what I do they are often surprised. “How did you get into that” is usually their first question.

Here’s the abridged version: I fell into acting very young finding myself on big international feature films such as Bedtime Stories and Valentines Day, shows like Family Guy and How I Met Your Mother. This rewarded me with a lot of life lived at a very young age. When I was a young kid, I saw that my new neighbor had put a trampoline in his yard and was rollerblading off the roof and having these wild photoshoots with huge celebrities who I did not recognize only because my eyes were set on the trampoline… and because I was 7 years old. Naturally I weaseled my way into being his resident jumper and a lifelong bond began. This neighborhood photographer whose name you will mostly recognize is Tyler Shields.

Jumping forward in time…By the time I was in high school I had learned two things about art: I loved it and I had a rolodex of entertainment people from my career that takes most people a lifetime to amass. One thing led to another and I began selling Tyler’s work to friends in my community.

Jumping again to the present…I now have sold Warhols and Banksy’s. I have 7 incredible artists that I represent plus an online gallery with a focus in photography which hosts popups all over the world. What I do is different from other galleries. I work directly with collectors and first time collectors alike to find the right piece for them. I also find creative ways to build my artists’ brand, increasing the value play for the collectors and sales for the artist.

One artist that I work with and I am excited about at the moment is Jake Inez: a Mexican/Filipino photographer with roots in Southern California. His work has a cinematic feel with elements that suggest a deeper underlying story. The familiar composition of his work accompanied by the significance placed on color, light, and motion, create a dreamlike image leaving a viewer filled with warmth and a desire to see more. You can check out some of his prints here: https://www.jakeinez.net I am covering shipping in the US for all Jake Inez prints until January 1st. If you like a print and would like to see a price list or have any questions whatsoever feel free to email me at [email protected].

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Looking back, these three things led me to where I am today. Still climbing, but happy with the path I have walked.

Patience. Have the patience to see it through. There are some days where shit doesn’t stick. Success is only achieved when luck meets strategy. Your billion dollar idea could still be a billion dollar idea, but if you give up on it before it reaches fruition it’s not a billion dollar idea it’s just an idea.

Passion. You gotta want it. It’s as simple as that. If you are doing something you don’t want to do. You will not be fulfilled.

Knowledge. Be knowledgeable. Listen. Watch. Read. Be the most knowledgeable you can be at your craft. When you don’t know something ask someone who does.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I am always looking for people to collaborate with! Brands and magazines that are need of a campaign that I can pair an artist with. Let’s collab. If your brand is in need of photo and or video for a new campaign feel free to reach out to [email protected] and we can have a chat!

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