Freshen up your space with these striking digital prints.
If you’re anything like us, you spent the majority of last years’ lockdown scouting out printmakers, artists and homewares to help you decorate your place and brighten up your living space(s) and in doing so, chances are you’ve stumbled across JB Creates and his iconic geometric-style prints.
And if you haven’t, well you’re in for a treat.
JB Creates is the artistic creation of Geelong local Jake Buchanan, spawned during last year’s Victorian lockdowns.
Keep up with the latest in local good news via our website.
Moving in with his interior designer girlfriend Jayde, who makes the majority of the decisions around styling the house (and rightly so, she’s super talented and you can see here), Jake needed to think outside the box after an unsuccessful attempt to hang a Lebron James poster on the living room wall, advised that only ‘art’ would decorate the space.
Jake set himself a challenge: to combine pop culture with art so that he could adorn his walls with legends.
“I feel that a lot of guys can relate to this. Maybe that’s why man caves are filled with memorabilia,” Jake says.
“Naturally I needed to win and find a way to get what I wanted on the wall. I went on YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest and found different styles of art. Eventually, I found a few that I liked and experimented with Adobe software to create different images. The first one was Joel Selwood which I knew Jayde wouldn’t say no to. I kept creating and eventually decided to put them on Instagram.”
View this post on Instagram
Landing on a unique style of art can only be described as geometrically cool meets pop-culturally defined, Jake’s original goal of getting his sporting heroes on the walls soon had a much bigger effect: propelling him into a highly successful side hustle and his own art label – JB Creates.
Inspired by pop culture and boasting bold, urban colours, JB Creates is all about celebrating sports champions, boss women, celebrity culture, music legends, style icons – the list goes on. With the best of the best forever tributed in vibrant depictions, Jake has already created five unique series for customers to choose from.
Series one boasts ‘The Starters’, featuring the most elite sportsman of our time across multiple sports, including Lebron James, Mo Salah and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Series two is dedicated to some of the most empowering women of our generation including Lady Gaga, Beyonce Knowles and Kim Kardashian, while series three is all about the iconic names from the Fifties who have been idolised for generations. Think James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn.
Jake’s fourth series was spawned ahead of the Australian Open earlier this year and is dedicated to the best in the Tennis world, including Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and his fifth and most recent series, ‘Clutch Kings’, pays tribute to some of the current superstars of the NBA, like Kevin Durrant, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Luka Doncic and Australian young gun Ben Simmons.
View this post on Instagram
Inspired by worldly events, Jake often announces solo releases, including his most recent geometric interpretation of the inspiration Patty Mills. As part of this release, Jake announced that 50% of proceeds would be donated to Bridge The Gap, a foundation for Indigenous Health and Education.
And the best part? He’s only just getting started.
“I am currently working on a new music series which I’m hoping to release very soon. This series will match the Run the World female music series that I’ve released. It will feature some of the biggest names in the male music scene. Hint: Two of my all-time favourite artists take the stage.
“I trialled some Christmas cards at my first market and they were pretty popular so I might look down the greeting card angle as well. The Rock wearing a Christmas hat and holding a candy cane saying “Have a Rockin’ Christmas” was a personal favourite.”
As for the custom prints, the sky is the limit. Whether it is a family photo, a pet portrait or your favourite pop culture icon, Jake has become a trailblazer for this new concept of artwork that’s original and unique. Do you want Harry Styles in your bedroom? Michael Hutchence in the lounge? Or maybe it’s Michael Jordan above your desk. If you want to celebrate your heroes on the daily, JB Creates can make it a reality.
View this post on Instagram
Despite a clear knack for geometric design, Jake admits that his design background halts at VCE, where he studied studio art and VCE Media.
“I studied Studio Art in VCE more as what I thought would be easy or fun and a break from other subjects. I was never the best painter but would always put people or characters in my pieces. I also studied VCE Media so I used a lot of Adobe Photoshop and Indesign to edit photos and create a music magazine for one of the outcomes. I found that using a computer and still being able to create something was the perfect mix,” he explains.
“I always used my free time playing sport and never took art seriously or did much outside of school. If you had told me back then that people would buy my artwork I would have laughed.”
Using his spare time in lockdown to perfect his new craft, with individual prints taking between three and eight hours to create, the best part about Jakes creations is that they brilliantly marry the nostalgic notion of putting up a poster, with the significant trend in wall art, giving people a completely new and unique way of styling their homes.
“I love that people of all ages can relate in some way. They can be used for so many different purposes. For me, it is my favourite icons for their values or achievements, such as Lebron James, Joel Selwood and Rafa Nadal. For Jayde, it’s Kim Kardashian and Beyonce.
“Some customers use them as motivation in their office, pair his and her prints, or just like the colours and how they fit the room they put them in. Instead of an old poster, they are fun, abstract and colourful.
“The coolest part is that it is always exciting getting a new custom order and wondering what the story behind their choice is. Out of all the people in the world, what makes you pick Michael Jordan, Conor McGregor or Usain Bolt. What is the significance of these icons in their lives?”
View this post on Instagram
You can shop all series prints online via the website. To order a custom print, you can send an email to [email protected] or DM his Instagram.
