Jay Kopicki
Scott: How long have you been painting?
Jay: I’ve been painting since I can remember. My mom’s side of the family is full of visual artists, literally dozens from aunts to great aunts to great grandparents. I feel like there isn’t a time I can remember when painting/drawing/etc wasn’t a part of my life. I’ve been painting professionally for 9, going on 10 years now. But my first commissions were colored pencil & crayon drawings of Stevie, Sergei, Chris Osgood, etc in elementary school for lunch money.
Scott: What was your favorite mural you have done?
Jay: My favorite mural is the first one I did, on Baltimore and Brush St at the Baltimore Gallery. I met Phil Simpson through a mutual contact and he invited me to come out and paint a mural on the exterior of his gallery. I painted a lion which, if you look back, was the main subject matter of my early work. I can’t explain it but showing up and painting this wall ignited a fire in me that hasn’t gone out, the trust and opportunity that Phil showed me were unmatched, and the ball has been rolling ever since.
Scott: What art education and experience do you have?
Jay: I attended 6 colleges, spending just 1 year at each one. Wayne State, Adrian College, University of the District of Columbia, Oakland University, Macomb Community College, and CCS. I also had a unique experience in high school at Warren De La Salle, where my teacher was above and beyond one of the biggest artistic influences of my life. I played basketball at 3 of those colleges and studied art at most of them. It’s hard to quantify where the education/experiences line up but each school meant a lot to me and my growth as an artist.
Scott: What was a roadblock in your journey and how did you overcome that roadblock?
Jay: Giving up basketball to pursue art. It was a very weird separation of personality, I always saw myself as an athlete first and an artist second. When I realized the art route made more sense, it was difficult to commit to that. I wouldn’t change any of the decisions I’ve made concerning my career but hanging up the sneakers was a big learning process as far as how I identified myself.
Scott: Who is your mentor? And what advice did they give you?
Jay: My mom and my dad, easily. Dad was a professional basketball player who taught me discipline, work ethic, training, athletics, etc. Mom was an architect from an artistic family that taught me visual arts. Also, the two Mr. Littlejohns that formed my youth. Like I said earlier, my art teacher at De La Salle had a huge impact on my life, his name is Bill Littlejohn. My travel basketball coach growing up was Alonzo Littlejohn. It was very serendipitous that they had the same last name and were responsible for the 2 most important parts of my life. I was going to join mechanical drawing in high school and my art teacher, Bill Littlejohn, gave me some very sound advice. Based on what he saw from my work he told me “Cake is good, but if you eat cake for every meal..you’ll get sick of cake.” That always stuck with me, I never want to have to make the same thing over and over and over, and I guess that’s why he guided me away from a more structured profession like mechanical drawing. Also, my dad used always to tell me “you never know who’s watching” in the sense of being recruited for college ball. The dude in a sweatsuit in the corner watching you play could be a coach for Duke, for example. So it was like, always give everything you got, anytime you lace ‘em up you don’t know how it could change your future. This still sticks with me because when I finish a painting, mural, project, etc., I always imagine the best muralist in the world will see it. And I want them to be impressed. Your normal passerby isn’t going to take a second glance, I want the best artists in the world to be impressed by my work.
Scott: What are your goals for the next year?
Jay: I have a book I’ve been working on, I need to finish it and publish it. My goal is to not paint for every dollar, but rather create something timeless that I can work with to fund my true passion projects.
Scott: One positive thing about yourself?
Jay: Cliche to answer this question this way but I feel I’m a positive person. It’s hard for me to look at a cloudy day and find something wrong with it. There’s so much to be happy and excited about in life that it kind of feels like a cop-out/or the easy way out to see the downsides. It’s easy to complain, it’s uplifting to ignore the clouds and go about your day. It’s healthy to voice stuff that’s going wrong or bothering you, but at the same time, it’s annoying to let that stuff define you.
Scott: What is something many people don’t know about you?
Jay: I have a weird phobia of wet paper. Like specific sizes and textures of paper if they’re saturated. Like a Trident wrapper in someone’s cup holder in their car that’s sitting under a water bottle that’s sweating just absolutely sets me off. Not much bothers me, but tiny pieces of wet paper hurt my soul and I can’t explain why.
