Meet Jake, a Seattle-based Chicano Artist
A strong advocate for youth empowerment and the power of positive reinforcement, Jake grew up being told he didn't matter. As a youth, he was placed in special education classes due to undiagnosed dyslexia. He became involved in gang culture as early as middle school. Thanks to positive role models later in life he began to turn things around and became heavily involved in the Chicano Movement and student organizations like MEChA.
Jake’s work is an amalgamation of his life experiences. It represents his Chicano background, his life lived back and forth from Los Angeles and Seattle, it represents love and heartbreak, oppression and resilience, laughter and tears. It’s as if he took all his life experiences, put them in a blender, and poured them out onto the canvas. His oil paintings and digital artwork are created with a specific focus on themes relating to Chicanx and Indigenous culture, social justice, pop culture, and satire.
Jake is the owner/co-director of the Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery on the border of West Seattle and White Center. He also exhibits his art and lectures across the country.
Jake In a Snapshot
