07 Jul 2008, Written by Kira Wisniewski in design, 1 Comments

Meet Jesse LeDoux

Meet Jesse LeDoux. You’ve seen his work; you just might not know it. After leading the helm of art direction for seven years at Sub Pop Records he started his own illustration/design firm LeDouxville in 2004. Also, with fellow Sub Popper, Jeff Kleinsmith, he makes up the other half of Patent Pending Design. In 2005, he received a Grammy nomination for “Best Recording Package” for his work on The Shins Chutes Too Narrow. He’s also done album and poster artwork for other artists like Decemberists and Iron and Wine. Born and raised in the boonies of Washington right outside Portland, Oregon Jesse LeDoux currently resides in Tokyo where he continues to create fun, inventive, whimsical designs. He corresponded with Is Greater Than through email talking about his latest projects, his overall body of work and the unfortunate tale of the fateful Cotton Candy Forest.

What brings you to Japan?

My wife got a Fulbright grant to research architecture here. Since I am able to work pretty much anywhere, we decided that moving to Japan would be a nice change of pace (which, we were right!).

Are you going to be permanently bi-continental?

Nope, just for a year. While there will definitely be things I’ll miss, there are certainly some things I’m looking forward to about being back in the U.S. Burritos and more space are at the top of the list.

Tell us about your latest project – travels.

I’ve been really lucky to have had the opportunity to travel a lot in the past couple of years. I felt that if I created something inspired by the trips, my time in these new locations would feel more meaningful to me. So, I created a set of 4 screen prints based on 4 places I’d visited recently. They were really enjoyable to work on, as it really allowed me to think about each place again. I’m considering doing a second set, once I have a few new places stamped in my passport.

I went to Switzerland in late 2006, so that was the first print I did. The second print was Egypt, which I visited last summer. Third was Thailand, which I went to in March. And the fourth print is Japan, which is where I currently am.

Where were these printed/created?

They were created in Tokyo and printed in Seattle. I took a short trip to Seattle a month or so ago, and figured it would be good to do a new print while I was there. That way, I could avoid international shipping charges/hassles and have something new available, since it’s been a while since I’ve released any new prints on my site (ANOTHER benefit of moving back to the U.S.).

For several years you were the art director at Sub Pop; would you ever work in a record label environment again? What are the perks of that kind of gig?

Although Sub Pop was a dream job in many ways, I’m MUCH happier where I’m at now. There are a few perks that I do miss though. The free CDs were nice. My co-workers were terrific. And health insurance certainly doesn’t hurt either. Now that I’m self-employed, I buy my CDs, work alone, and I’ve quit skateboarding to remedy my lack of health insurance.

In general, how do you come up with concepts for your work?

I typically just think about a given project for a couple of days. Once I come up with an idea which I think might work, I start drawing. If the drawings take shape relatively easy, I’ll stick with it. If it feels forced, I’ll abandon it for something that feels more natural. Most often, if a sketch is forced, the final will be exponentially more forced. It’s best to start with something I’m excited about, as that excitement will typically carry through to the end of a project.

Do you draw freehand and then scan or draw all on the computer?

Most often, I’ll do the drawing with pen and ink. The only times I’ll draw it entirely in the computer is if I want something really clean looking–which doesn’t happen very often at all. Actually drawing something by hand gives the work a warmth that you just don’t get otherwise.

Can you share some quick tips for the DIY screen printer/designer?

Besides practice, practice, practice? Having a strong desire for experimentation is definitely a plus. Just because you haven’t seen somebody else use a certain technique doesn’t mean it won’t be completely successful for you. Try something solidly wrong, as it might lead you down an avenue that is perfectly right.

Last February you did a workshop in Maryland on screen-printing – do you plan on doing more workshops? Where? When?

Every workshop/class/lecture/speaking engagement I’ve done is because someone liked my stuff enough to invite me out to give the workshop/class/lecture/speaking engagement. I don’t currently have anything lined up, though I’ve had discussions with a couple of organizations that will most likely lead to me doing something with them in the future. It’s still a ways off at this point right now as plane tickets to/from Tokyo are a bit of a deal breaker.

Last February you also were part of a huge rock poster art show at the University of Maryland – tell us the fateful tale of a cotton candy forest.

The University of Maryland gave me their large back gallery to use as an installation space. My idea was to do a 3 wall mural and create a forest of cotton candy trees. Little did I know that the slight humidity of the gallery would cause the cotton candy to disintegrate. Fourteen hours of spinning cotton candy had transformed into a horrible pink catastrophe overnight.

With one day before the show was scheduled to open, I had to think of a back-up plan. My initial idea was to find a furry fabric and sew some fuzzy foliage onto the tree shapes I’d created. However, after going to every fabric store within a 30 mile radius and not finding a fabric remotely close to what I had in mind, I knew I’d better come up with a back-up plan for my back-up plan. That’s when I had the idea to create giant paper bags to cover the trees. Once the bags were made, I painted faces on them, creating two armies of giant dueling paper bag puppets. Although the end result was conceptually much different than my initial idea of a forest of fluffy strange trees, I’m really happy with how the paper bags turned out.

What are you working on next?

I recently wrapped up a series of posters for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Target hosts four large celebrations each year, and they commission posters, T-shirts, and commemorative photo frames for each celebration. J. Otto did the series last year, and this year they asked me. It was a lot of fun.

I’m also working on stuff for a couple of upcoming gallery shows, working on a couple of CD packages, doing a new animation for Nickelodeon’s Yo Gabba Gabba T.V. show, and preparing for an upcoming trip to China.

To see more of Jesse LeDoux’s work and to order pieces from his latest collection “Travels” visit his website at www.ledouxville.com.

Kira Wisniewski currently lives just outside of our nation’s capitol and continually tries to do her part in fighting the good fight. Her latest endeavor is co-founding 826DC, a free, non-profit writing center for youth in Washington, DC. She also has a pet bunny named Billie Jean.

View all articles by Kira Wisniewski.