Today we’d like to introduce you to Jack Diller.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born in Richardson, Texas, August 21st, 1994. A real city slicker. I am the oldest son of five children, one older sister, and three younger brothers. In my childhood, my older sister was praised for her artistic ability, so I gave it a try, I was good. Growing up I was interested in comic book characters like Spider-Man and Batman, as well as comic strips like Calvin and Hobbes and The Peanuts. I am also greatly inspired by cartoons like The Simpsons, Ed Edd, and Eddy, The Powerpuff Girls, The Regular Show, and all that stuff. I wasn’t making art all of the time though. I spent most of my days like the other kids in the early 2000s, playing video games.
I studied visual art all through high school and one year of college at The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. It was during that year at Arkansas (2014) I came to believe that nothing would come of a formal education. I felt that the curriculum was vanilla and had nothing to do with grooming artists and all to do with checking off boxes. I dropped out of school three weeks before the end of my second semester and moved back to Texas.
I started creating whatever images I was interested in making. Illustrated characters started to flow out of me. I got some gigs designing T-shirts and event posters, nothing to live off of. I moved into an apartment with two other artists, and musicians. One of them is the musician, SA-20 the other is Nodji. We paid rent working at a restaurant together. My interest in visual art waned as I attempted to enter “the scene”. I saw little avail. I came to view the art world as a small club of elites who chose their friends for display, but very little to do with good imagery.
At this point (2015) I was studying music at home. I practiced guitar, drums, bass, and some basic theory after work, autodidactically. Years passed where I worked entry-level jobs at restaurants and gas stations. I’ve worked so many menial jobs I can’t count them all. I released my first project in the year 2019, a Folk EP under my name. The next year I got together with another novice musician and we released an EP under the band name, The Lullaby’s. During this same time period, I was creating a lot of art again, under the pseudonym Skoobala. Illustrating local bands, I had seen at house shows, t-shirts for bands, album art, event posters, and miscellaneous commissions. I’ve never truly loved creating art on commission, something about the expectation is annoying.
Moving along, in 2021, I worked closely with a local label called Toast Toast Recordings. A collection of local bands and friends of the curator. You might say, “this is similar to the art scene you were disillusioned with.”, however this time I was included, so I didn’t care. I released two tracks under my own name, “Seasons” and “C’mon, Nora”, as well as three more under The Lullaby’s through Toast Toast Recordings. My song Seasons got a write-up from Central Track, which was very cool. I felt that I had been noticed.
Today I am living in East Dallas. I graphic design for a small Crypto company called Index Coop, however, this only pays the bills. My desire is to be a musician who can pay the bills by playing. I will release an album very soon, maybe today after I write this deal up. The album is titled Ludus, which is a Greek word defining a playful kind of love (I’m pretty sure it’s Greek). The songs are all about different women who it didn’t work out with. I make fun of my own mistakes and try to make light of how dramatic things can be.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The biggest struggle is believing whether you have something worth sharing. You see a lot of great work out there and you look at yours and feel it’s not ready. Being an advocate for yourself is also very difficult. I learned to just put it out there no matter what. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
Besides the art and music scene itself, life is difficult. No one wants to pay you a living wage when you are a young person with no work experience. You have to work ridiculous hours late at night and early in the morning to pay rent. You spend a lot of your energy working a shitty job and when you get home to your art, you’ve got nothing. Progress is slow.
Rejection used to be a great excuse to hide for me. Now it is an indicator that I am in the wrong place. It’s a big world, someone is going to like it. If Kid Rock can have the career he has, I believe anyone can do anything.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Visually, I work mostly with bands creating merch designs, cover art, and event posters. Now and then I am commissioned for tattoos, decorative art, and children’s books.
I am known for my illustrative style. Although I am a perfectionist in my head, I try to allow things to be a little messy so they can breathe. I studied colors a lot in the past, and I take pride in my understanding of them. My visuals are often personified animals and objects doing things. Sometimes my visual art is inappropriate for children, but here I often find the best catharsis.
Musically, I am nascent. Anyone can release music these days with the internet. I enjoy recording everything at home, all by myself. I write and record each part. This most recent album, a friend played the drums. I have had the pleasure of playing a few live shows with my music. I spent the better part of 2021 playing the bass for the band St. Yuma.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
• Never let anyone tell you that you cannot
• Criticism hurts but it’ll cut your teeth well if you listen
• Don’t stop, just keep making stuff even when you don’t want to
• Don’t waste time on perfection, it’s impossible
• Collaborate with others, at least spend time with other artists
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacky_jack_diller/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackyjackdiller
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFEMDXCNAqnVbTFa0wpB7YQ
- Other: https://jackdiller.bandcamp.com/
