Howdy. Jacob Blanchet, from Rhode Island, USA. Age 42 (for now).

A wee bit of background information. Born and bred in Johnston, a smallish town outside of Providence. From age sixteen on I bounced all over the state, lived in several different towns with several different wonderful people in several different houses and apartments, getting into several different kinds of trouble. Somehow I’ve survived with (almost) little injury.

From 2003-2019 I played guitar and bass in a handful of bands of various genres, mostly punk, black metal, and heavy metal/hardcore. Currently in musical limbo. Hoping to get back to playing with other humans at some point, but for now it’s just me and my acoustic, playing “Greensleeves” over and over because it’s the only song I know.

I’ve been drawing since I was small, mostly creatures and Universal Monsters, stuff I’d find on Halloween decorations. One of the first drawings I did was on the wall of my bedroom closet in my childhood home: a group of floating heads with smiling faces and big ears with way too many arms and legs in the form of tentacles coming from their necks. I was probably two years old, I’m not sure. The drawing stayed on that wall until the house was sold several years ago. For all I know it’s still there.

Comics were my thing for most of my childhood. I specifically remember learning to draw faces and bodies from the posters on my wall that came with the Reign of the Supermen comics from 1993. My favorite comic artists who had the most influence on me were (and still are) Joe Madureira, Chris Bachalo, Mike Allred, and Matt Wagner. My love of thick, bold outlines came from Allred. Joe Mad had that manga-esque style that influenced me more than anything at the time, before I even knew what manga was. Bachalo is where I got my love of details and heavy textures with a cool, punk attitude. Matt Wagner’s almost cartoonish facial expressions.

In high school I got slightly into manga and anime, but very selectively. I never bought manga because I didn’t know where to find it, and most of the anime I had was taped off of The Sci-Fi Channel. But, man, did I love Ghost in the Shell, Demon City Shinjuku, Akira, Vampire Hunter D, and especially Ninja Scroll. Was also obsessed with indie film, wanted to be a cinematographer for a while there, but that was a fleeting dream at best. My old best friend even found us a Super 8 camera but we couldn’t find or afford any film for it.

After I dropped out I got into the punk scene and started going to local shows. Got very heavy into the Providence music scene which was, to say the least, formative. The spaces, the artists, the bands, those lovely people were very dear to me and who I turned out to be as a human being. Got into all manner of extreme music, but the most important to me at the time was the Anarcho bands, or “peace punk” bands. Very political, very angry, very influential. Fell in love with all the Crass Records bands, and from there things just kind of spiraled.

Around this time I was introduced to what became my favorite band Rudimentary Peni and the art of vocalist/guitarist Nick Blinko. Political, Gothic, death-rocky, weird, obsessively detailed, morbid, surreal, slightly childish. His drawings completely rewired my brain, I had NO idea anyone could make art like that. He quickly became (quite obviously) my number one influence. I sometimes refer to my art as “from the School of Blinko.” My drawings from around this time were kind of Blinko pastiches, but a little bit manga, a little bit abstract, almost always horror vacui. I used pens with the tiniest nibs I could find. Took me days, sometimes weeks, to finish one drawing, and even then I’d only really show them to a select group of people. Once Myspace came around I was able to share my art with more people that way.

While I’m at it, several other obvious influences that I proudly wear on my sleeve are (not in any particular order, or timeline) Harry Clarke, Madge Gill, Edward Gorey, Kay Nielsen, Odilon Redon, Mervyn Peake, Goya, Kubin, and a slew of Golden Age illustrators, too many to name. I could use up this whole bio with just the names of artists and books that mean a lot to me, but I don’t want to be pedantic and annoying. Every single day I look forward to being introduced to new artists that I can stare at and drool over.

That I guess brings me to my own style and “technique.” To be honest, I don’t have any one particular style, OR technique aside from the usual recycled textures, and patterns. My drawings are, these days, wholly automatic. It truly depends on the day, and whatever may have subconsciously influenced me at the moment. I rarely go into a drawing with any sort of plan, I almost never pencil things out first like I used to back in my comics days, I just sit my ass in the seat, pick up a tool, and let my hand do whatever it wants. It’s so much easier, less stressful, and much more fun to just “wing it.” A lot of people ask me how I draw what I draw without losing my mind, and I always tell them: patience and time, as hard to come by as they sometimes are for most people. Simple as that really. I honestly wish I had more to say about it! Sounds lazy, but I’d only be pretentiously lying to you if I said there was more to it than that.

Most importantly: drawing is my therapy, my number one medication. I do it because I need to, and I’m going to do it every day regardless of how I’m feeling, where I am, or what else I have going on. It keeps me grounded and gives me a sense of purpose, makes me feel less useless. If I can interest people in my work, or have them find any sort of use for it while I’m at it then that makes me very happy.

There are a handful of trusty pals that keep me going and inspire me to no end every single day, and they know who they are!