Specializing in Graphic Design, Illustration, & Fine Art
With 20 years in the graphic design industry and nearly 30 years in the arts, I use these years of experience to span across multiple design genres. I enjoy hand drawing custom images in illustration, fine art, and graphic design projects.
Bio
Torn between the worlds of Classic Fables, Nursery Rhymes, and Stories, and the Fifties and Sixties era Rock N’ Roll with it‘s iconic personalities, Justin “Juice” Lee finds himself walking a crooked, scribbled line between the dark and the whimsical. At a young age, Juice was fascinated by the creatures of Dr. Suess and the stories written by Stephen Cosgrove and Illustrated by Robin James, as well as the imaginative musical influence of the Beatles and David Bowie. This seems perhaps an odd mix, but you can easily imagine a nine year old sketching out unusual creatures and characters to the soundtrack of Abbey Road or Ziggy Stardust.
For years Juice scribbled and scratched out his blend of the simple yet odd beings you may find wandering through a Grimm Fairy Tale. He has always enjoyed the childish themes and premises combined with the uncertainty and the direful plot lines of these tales. There is an enormous presence in the image of a small child with large beaming eyes staring into the mystery of a dark forest or an old cabin on a hill.
Then there was music. Being in bands since his high school years, Juice was divided between writing lyrics and his doodles. He became a commercial artist and graphic designer after school and so spent most of his creativity in the arts in a commercial realm, while balancing his musical pursuits. This is where the era of the Fifties and Sixties comes in. Growing in an affinity for the Blues and Vintage era Rock N’ Roll that sub-culture began to seep in and skew his influences. The Pin Up and Hot Rod culture of Southern California began to permeate his work from canvas paintings to hand drawn cartoon illustrations. There was the rumbling bass lines and the strumming drive of the Gretsch Hollowbody in their music, and the The new era Pin Up Model was a mix of the classic beauty and the eccentric artist. This was all very captivating.
Now Juice still works as a commercial artist as well as a fine artist and illustrator, while still finding time for music. Having a base in Roseville, California, a suburb of Sacramento, Juice creates and shows his works of Golden Age nostalgia and dark and eerie dreams.
In your travels you may stumble across Audrey Hepburn holding hands with Frankenstein’s Monster, a group of kids playing hopscotch with the Grimm Reaper, or just a snarling monster with a well groomed pompadour. In any event, Juice was probably there or will be soon. Preferring to stay up late with the rats and the bats and the wise old owl, around the corner and down the hall last door on the left is Juice Creative Studios.