Life & Work with Jeremy Wells of Phoenix, AZ

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremy Wells.

Hi Jeremy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Beginning in 2010, I chose to pursue art and animation as my career while living in Florida. I had raw talent, but decided to enroll in art school to further my skillset. My wife and I moved to Los Angeles in order for me to finish my studies and search for work in the animation industry. I worked in a studio for just under a year before deciding I wanted to pursue freelancing. I began freelancing in late 2014, and I haven’t looked back. I spend the majority of my time working on digital designs for books, logos, and apparel. Over the past few years, our business now offers murals for businesses, offices, and residential homes.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Freelancing has been mostly consistent overall – like any business, it ebbs and flows. I started out on my own with no help, and I was able to maintain that for about 6 years. In 2020, the workload was enough to justify hiring an administrative personality to assist with the mundane details that I could not keep up with. As an Artist, it was pulling me from my creative flow and also hindering me from taking on new projects. I mentioned this idea to my wife, Erika, and we decided together to have her come home from corporate America in order to help me from an operational perspective. That was five years ago, and it was a great decision. I was immediately able to gain more work/clients and increase our revenue. COVID was challenging for about three weeks; however, I was able to pick up clients that now had more time on their hands. We never really had a lull in business until 2023-2024. Before the Election, business looked bleak, and it was scary. However, by the end of 2024 things started picking up and as of now, business is booming – especially in the mural arena.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m first and foremost a Character Designer. It’s my job to emulate existing styles, as well as create new ones. This has served me well when creating custom illustrations for children’s books, logos, branding, apparel, and portraits. There’s no style of work that I feel I need to turn away – I’m confident I can replicate anything I see. This is the main thing that sets me apart from other Illustrators who are confined to their specific style.
I’m most known for adding life and humor to characters in books, especially anything involving animals.

What makes you happy?
Illustrating quirky things like aliens, bulldogs, and other types of creatures. I have a unique personality, and I love to develop interesting characters that are purely from my imagination.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.iamillustrations.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/i.am.illustrations
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IAMillustrations