Pins and Embroidery Floss

Contemporary black and white mixed media portrait by Houston-based artist Jaymes Earl. The work features an abstract portrait made of strategically placed pins wrapped in embroidery floss. Signed by the artist in the front lower right corner. Currently hung in a black complimentary frame.

I am originally from El Paso, Texas. I graduated from Prairie View A&M University with a degree in Mathematics. I taught 7th grade math for a few years before I pursued an art career. As a child I was really into arts and crafts. I used to love drawing anime comics and build with Legos. Once I got older I gravitated more towards sports and didn’t take any art classes outside of the ones I was required to take. I didn’t pick up a paint brush again until my mid to late 20s. Today I work mostly with pins and thread and I do some digital art as well. I got into string art around 2014. This was inspired by mediums like table salt art and other works made with bottle caps and shredded pieces of paper. I not only appreciated the technique, I loved the extra layer that was added once you learned the materials used. This caused me to experiment with random objects from the arts and crafts store before settling on the pins and thread. Then over the pandemic, I started working in the digital space. This has really allowed me to create a number of products and accessories like prints, shirts, totes, and even ball caps. Most important it has allowed me to open up more when it comes to using color and telling my story. Today, my work is about combining my favorite childhood activities along with my love for our hip hop culture. My work is inspired by 3 things: Math, Music and Muses. My work is mostly geometry inspired. I make great use of angles and intersecting lines when creating digitally. My string art holds these qualities as well however there is also a 3 dimensional layer added. Today music plays a big role in my artwork. The hip hop genre has shifted culture in ways that we could never imagine. My work is not only about highlighting this culture shift, I also want to show it’s roots in how it all got started! Last, I love working with angles and chunks of color. My work as a very minimalist approach along with the use of geometric shapes and color blocking.

H 17 in. x W 13 in. x D 2.5 in.

H 16 in. x W 12 in.