Guessing NYC’s Aura With XPPen and Artist Jason Woodside
The artist talks expanding the world of color expression with the world’s first-ever 4k Calman verified drawing display.
Street art has always captured the pulse of the collective. Vibrant washes of color sing the tune of life in motion, the city’s hustle and bustle rendered as if by synesthesia. For New York-based artist Jason Woodside, the mural conjures just that: a shared consciousness and response to the evocative power of color and its ability to spark joy. Born in Virginia, Woodside moved to New York to pursue an art career, ignited by his love of textile design and nature. His vivacious murals, punctuated by bold, dopamine-inducing colors and eye-catching geometric patterns, celebrate the communal energy of major cities across the globe, from Paris to Tokyo. Notable collaborations with Google, adidas, Obey, and Slowtide have demonstrated the artist’s versatile approach to street art and penchant for acrylics and aerosols.
Jason Woodside
Jason Woodside
Jason Woodside
Jason Woodside
Jason Woodside
Most recently, XPPen met up with the artist to highlight the creative applications of the Artist Pro 24 (Gen 2) series, inviting him to judge the “Vibrant City Challenge.” The spirited social media competition, launching October 23, supports the rollout of the Artist Pro 24 (Gen 2) series, encouraging creatives from diverse disciplines to enter artworks imbued with the spirit of their favorite cities.
Xppen
Xppen
Xppen
Xppen
Xppen
XPPen’s latest drawing tablets introduce the world’s first-ever 4k Calman verified 24-inch drawing display, meticulously crafted to deliver professional artists exceptional color accuracy and an unparalleled digital creation experience. The Artist Pro 24 (Gen 2) 165Hz unleashes an ultra-speed drawing display with reduced image flickering, motion blur and stuttering. For creators looking for a maximalist drawing experience, the Artist Pro 24 (Gen 2) 4K unveils a brilliant 4K Ultra HD resolution and an oversized display ideal for multi-interface functionality. Both devices pair back to the X3 Pro Slim Stylus, equipped with 16k pressure levels, a 26-degree tapered design meant to reduce visual obstruction when drawing, and the X3 Pro Smart Chip Stylus, offering two shortcut keys, a digital eraser and a smooth, pen-on-paper feel.
Artists can tap into an elevated workflow tailored to their creative needs with the Artist Pro 24 (Gen 2) series, challenging the bounds of digital creation. In conversation with XPPen, Woodside talks about using color as a tool of inspiration and expanding his artistic practice with the innovative tablet.
XPPen: For those new to your work, do you mind giving a brief introduction into how you began your career in art?
Jason Woodside: I’m an artist specializing in fine art and murals. I’ve been doing that for about 20 years or so; [it’s] my main occupation. I [studied] at the School of Visual Arts in New York City in the early 2000s. Throughout that time, I kind of fell in love with street culture and street art through skateboarding, expanding that as a career and surrounding myself with other creatives to help push me.
XPPen: What influences do you continually tap into to inform your murals?
JW: I think my unique style is kind of a voice that encapsulates music, movies, skateboarding and surfing in my translated sort of way. So there is a language there. There is movement. And my love of color, this is the end result. So I think over time you just refine and refine it. You take risks and try to apply the artwork to different products or different buildings or different canvases. And like I said, over time, you just start perfecting it, and you make mistakes and learn from them. So you learn a lot through the process.
XPPen: How do you use color as a thematic vehicle or an engine of expression in your work?
JW: I think the color expression in my work hopefully triggers positivity or happiness and hopefully in some way, it inspires people. I think the collection of colors and contrasts curated in a certain way easily represent people or cultures working together to make something great. So I think there’s a story there that comes out of me subconsciously.
XPPen: Every city has its own aura. What colors do you think represent the energy and culture of New York City?
JW: There are hues in different cities for me and the coast. So for instance, in California, I [think] orange and sort of a pink hue. And whether that’s like a glaze that I kind of see, I’m not sure. New York as a whole is more blues and greens. Especially in the wintertime, [those] blue, crisp winter days. I think it’s those richer blues and greens that kind of represent [the] city.
XPPen: What are your initial thoughts on the Artist Pro 24 (Gen 2) 4K, and how do you see yourself integrating this device into your creative practice?
JW: It’s a necessary tool when we’re doing studio practice. It’s large enough that you can gauge a relative size of what you’re working on. The tools, the aspects that it comes with [and] the stylus — the accuracy is perfect.
XPPen: Since color is integral to your artwork and artistic vision, how do you feel about the tablet’s color performance, in particular?
JW: I think it’s high-performing. The Calman Verified display, the three color spaces, the Delta E and the new color calibrator help when exploring those different settings and then applying it to a canvas.
XPPen: In terms of establishing a creative workflow, how do you see other artists benefitting from the Artist Pro 24 (Gen 2) across different mediums?
JW: I think it will help artists think a lot bigger as well as explore and nurture their studio practice, working on something smaller scale. But then having the true colors that the tablet offers can help with that application process and seeing things on a bigger scale. So I think it’s a huge contribution.
XPPen: XPPen tapped you to judge the “Vibrant City Challenge.” Can you share some words on the experience?
JW: I think it’s a great opportunity to be part of something that’s really nurturing artists, and color is such a big part of so many different forms of art. It’s something to really embrace.
