Jimm O'Dell | Interview

Jimm O’Dell takes a snapshot of everyday life and turns it into a piece of art. “Over time I realised that I was observing people,” he said. “I didn’t even notice I was doing it. I love big crowds, but it’s not just about the people, it’s the environment too.” Whilst much of O’Dell’s illustrative work holds a fantastical tendency, his sketchbooks are filled with musings from the day-to-day hustle to ideas he can’t let go.

Having grown up in Cornwall where there’s a lot of history and folklore, it’s easy to understand how his work can be influenced by his surroundings. But it’s not confined to local experience, speaking about his personal drawings, which are reflections of the world around him, he said, “Would I have drawn those pictures if I hadn’t had to have done eight and a half years of commuting to and from work? I probably wouldn’t have!” 

It seems to cliché to say that first hand experiences sculpt who you are in some way, but it’s true. “One of my earliest memories,” he continued, thinking about the first time he picked up a pencil or paintbrush and mapped something out, “was actually, typically, back in school. I didn’t have many influences back then, but one thing that stands out is always sitting there with a biro or something I’d get off my Dad, and drawing on a lined bit of paper.” To some extent, he was influenced by the DOS Games he remembers, and his brother playing Hero Quest. “That’s probably where my interest in fantasy comes from. But as I’ve got older, I’ve tried to work more from my own experiences and fill in my own gaps. I think, OK I’m commuting every day, what are these people around me doing? They’re not just people, they’re not just numbers. They become characters with a story to tell. They’re more than just their names."

So, we offered, is that what led O’Dell to want to create his own artwork? Character creation? People doodle, people draw on their school book, people idly sketch away… But there has to be some definitive switch between doing art just because you like the feel of the pen in your hand, to wanting to create something of your own design, surely? “Someone else asked me a very similar question and I couldn’t answer him,” O’Dell replied. “It’s not because of a goal, it’s not because I wanted to achieve a result. It’s because I want to do it, it’s because I like to doodle with a pencil. That’s how it starts for me. I enjoy the process, sometimes more than the end result.”

With O’Dell’s sketch and pencil work, it was the soft touch that we were drawn to, yet there’s still such a vivid story to be told. Flicking through the pages of a sketchbook took us back to the days of looking through old fashioned Warhammer Fantasy role-play books. It’s an organic aesthetic that leads us to discuss the contrast with digital artwork. 

“My work tends to be mixed media,” O’Dell said. “Even my full renderings are, more often than not, never purely digital. I always want to mix my own style; my own flaws, my own details, my own way of drawing. That will always come first.”

There are times that sketch work can feel more honest because it retains a human touch. If you’re not careful, digital editing can take away what you’re truly seeing. But, it has its benefits. Edit-undo sound familiar? “There are thousands of other people using Photoshop, for example, who are creating art work so you need to stand out,” O’Dell added. “It’s given artists something new.” Possibilities? “Digital is good. You can say OK, I like this colour scheme but how would it look if I took it down this route, and changed it. You can take your art down a different path without destroying the original." 

It’s easy to imagine an artist sitting themselves down in a chair, pencil in hand, and off they go. Do we, the viewer, take the time to consider the process? For O’Dell, his work is often planned before pencil even reaches hand. He knows how he wants it look, what the level of intensity with the line work will be, what the composition will be. Going back to the sketchbooks that are filled with musings from the day-to-day hustle and ideas he can’t let go, he explains that much of this is the base for future work; “It is really loose conceptual work, they are thoughts for pictures and designs. They often start with very simple, rough line work. For example, I might see someone on the train and I’ll do a very quick thumbnail before I lose, or forget, the moment.”  

“When I was back in school doing my GCSE’s, I didn’t necessarily want to do art,” O’Dell admitted. “I just did it. My tutor at the time was quite old school, but was always encouraging. She even submitted my artwork to a local exhibition! She pushed me in a very good way and it planted a seed in my mind.” So much so that O’Dell is always looking to expand his portfolio. “I’ve started playing with oil paints. I enjoy exploring the flaws and trying to get it to yield. I like the challenge of trying to control this medium. It has a life of its own.”

It also offers a vibrancy and depth that you can’t get with other mediums. We discovered two interesting pieces, ‘Blue Demon’ and ‘Zombies’, which both have this newfound vibrancy. “You want to feel the creatures,” O’Dell said. “It’s got enough of its own character, but you need the vibrancy and the texture. My pencil drawings do what they need to do, they capture the scene and they have their own vibe, but if I want something with colour then I want it to explode. I almost want you to turn away from it and know that you will never forget that vivid blue face.” 

Another source of inspiration for O’Dell, and one he has cited as being a focus point of his work, is historical fiction and grit. “I’m fascinated with the past,” he said. “I’m fascinated with how things have come to be. I like the background stories of why things are the way they are, I’m intrigued by what came before. For me, it’s about reading into the details.” 

It’s also about finding something that lends itself to creating a modern narrative. Without looking at the past, we can’t move forward. Strong imagery leaves an indelible mark on you; you can never cease to carry it around with you. O’Dell’s modern narrative is, to us, character orientated. “I’m interested in social interaction,” he added. People can look very awkward, both in reality and immortalised in art. In one environment, someone can shine, but in another suddenly they’re closed off. Do emotions play a part? “Yes, I try to make everything relatable,” he said. 

O’Dell moved from Cornwall to London in search of an opportunity. “It was never a deliberate planned decision,” he said, despite work taking precedence, “I just ended up coming this way since travelling after university. There’s no arty story to tell about how I got here, but I have taken inspiration from the experience and journey. Cornwall offers folklore and history, the whole architecture of the place is different. But London has its own history, and everything is much bigger, grander. It’s cosmopolitan, it’s active and buzzing.” It’s progressive.

“If I’m honest, I’m not entirely sure where the journey goes from here. I want it to take me somewhere exciting. I want to keep developing what I’m doing and find someone who has something to offer.” Art evolves. And sometimes, ideas can come from nowhere. “I guess you just need to live life and see where it takes you…”

You can follow Jim O'Dell on Twitter, and keep up with his blog and portfolio too