PEOPLE

I bought tickets to the Minneapolis Wizard World Comic Con and brought my two boys with me. It was a dream of mine that seemed so far out of reach for me while I was married. I didn’t know how other artists would react toward me, and I was so nervous approaching them to talk. I bought my first piece of artwork from Chrissie Zullo; she has worked for DC and Dark Horse, among others, and I was terrified meeting her. She was so happy to talk to me, and I felt so welcome there. I truly felt like I was in my element. As soon as I returned home, I inquired about the next show. It was in Madison that same year, and I applied to have an artist table, not expecting to ever be accepted, but I was. I had three prints and a couple business cards, but I pulled it off. After that, I started meeting new artists, creators and actors, and I was hooked. I’ve done 12 shows since then, and I have at least one appearance per month lined up across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Kansas City for this year. I always feel weird when people seek me out at a show. I have a small social media following, and I am very tight with my followers. I see them more as friends than fans. I kind of get flustered when people find me at my table and are excited to see me. I get excited to meet them, and we kind of geek out together.

P�ORT�L�AND� M�ALT� S�HOPPE�

Life is sweet!�

706 East Superior Street�

Duluth, Minnesota�

Overlooking Lake Superior�

Open April 1st - October 22nd� larkcafeduluth.com�

The�C�HOCOLATE� S�HIP� sails the seas in search� of the finest chocolate cargo.� Exploring chocolate merchants� from around the world,� we search for� purity of ingredients,� artistry of the chocolatier� and commitment� to the chocolate trade.�

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716 East Superior Street� Duluth, Minnesota�

Open April 1st - October 22nd�

Q: Explain to me the scope of what you’ve accomplished. Where are you now, and where would you like to be?

A: My first challenge was finding a niche to identify myself. I needed a subject and a style. I struggled with this for years. I finally starting seeing a style coming through and conversed with my peers as to what I should claim as my own. There was no doubt I wanted to paint women, and that idea quickly turned into a series of paintings over the past two years, and now I have an identity in the art field.

Being invited to be a special guest at shows was huge for me. I’ve had to turn shows down because I have other shows to do that same weekend. In 2017, I was a guest at Chapel Con in Albert Lea, Minn., and I met a group of friends there who introduced me to a whole world of shows outside of Minnesota and Wisconsin. One of those artists is now my fiancee, and we have done an entire year of different art shows and conventions around Iowa and southern Minnesota. Eventually I hope we can both do this full time.

Q: Are you interested in teaching art? Do you do art activities with your children?

A: Whenever I do a show, I always get approached by kids interested in learning how to do what I do. I love when this happens. It gives me an opportunity to give them tips and hopefully inspire them. I usually give them some free artwork and tell them to keep going with it no matter what. I have three children myself, and my two boys, ages 12 and 17, have both taken interest in art. I recently bought my 12-year-old the same Wacom Tablet I use. He does commissions online for his friends, and my oldest boy designs characters for people he knows for online gaming. My daughter is an award-winning and published photographer. Sometimes I think they are more successful than I am.

Q: Tell me something you like about Duluth.

A: I’ve lived in many different areas across the United States throughout my life, and compared to most of those places, Duluth is unique. What is most attractive to me are the hiking trails and the lake. I am a fan of the wildlife we have here, and I love getting out there and experiencing that as often as possible. I love walking the boardwalk in Canal Park in the summer.

Q: What hobbies do you enjoy?

A: When I’m not home painting or travelling for shows, I am often found playing video games, playing Magic the Gathering or going to movies in the winter and hiking, biking and swimming in the summer. However, the hills we have here do challenge my bike-riding quite a lot.

Q: What are you reading right now?

A: I am collecting the Batman White Knight comic book series and trying to finish “The Walking Dead” graphic novels by Jay Bonansinga and Robert Kirkman.

Find Jason Longstreet online at artstation.com/bluejay20 or squareup.com/store/jlongstreet.