Josie Jammet is a very talented London-based illustrator that manages to work in an extremely realistic manner.
Josie Jammet’s work examines and reinterprets photographic reference to create new, previously unseen views of classic images and famous subjects. Her ability to work quickly to produce a highly detailed painted portrait has stood her in good stead. This talent has often been sought to provide highly unique portraits of celebrities and people in the public eye whose photographic image saturates the newstands. Her portfolio therefore reads as a who’s who of public life; Barak Obama, Gordon Brown, Vivien Westwood, Jamie Oliver, Stanley Kubrick, Steve Jobs, Martin Amis, Freddie Flintoff, Humphrey Littleton, Jack Black, Tom Cruise, Jude Law…. the list goes on.
As well as providing a fresh perspective to familiar icons, Josie has enjoyed being called upon to create an image were no other exists. Although immortalised in many song lyrics, no pictorial evidence of Stagolee exists, which is why the Guardian called upon Josie to bring this anti-hero to life for a Guardian Review cover. For her reference Josie struck upon an amalgamation of Edwardian dress reference taken from a library book, and the stance and attitude assumed by a model in an old sneaker advert.
In 2007 Josie Jammet was commissioned by Frost Design of Australia to produce artwork to advertise the new season of performances set for the Sydney Opera House. Very little photographic reference could be provided for the seven productions. Print deadlines for publicity items in the lead-up to the performances, meant that the productions were at pre-rehearsal stage. Josie’s painting for the client appear like a frozen moment, a captured still of something that is in fact yet to happen.
The illustrator herself, is fascinated by the idea of notoriety and celebrity, an avid collector of magazines such as ID and the Face, her own personal work has led her to re-paint the covers of such magazines as Paris Match and L’Uomo Vogue, artworks that are approximately 4ft x 6ft, making their cover stars; Edward Norton, Cindy Crawford, John McEnroe lifesize.
And Josie’s dream job would be to create an image which captured a character or event of renowned significance, a ‘Rosie the Riveter, of a our time, something that stuck in the collective memory.
Note: Works of Josie Jammet can be seen on the pages of The Guardian, Vanity Fair, Esquire, NY Mag and Rolling Stone among many many others..
