Jeff Skele Sheely

Mad Swirl is mighty proud to introduce you to our newest featured artist, Jeff Skele Sheely! Jeff brings us colorful collections of chaos – all perfectly portrayed in the patterned faces of often grumpy (or at least totally uninterested) characters. Skele’s use of color and line, his attention to detail and the otherworldly subjects in his works of art are all reasons alone to love these manic masterpieces. And yet still, there seems to be something more, something deeper to them – that our eyes just can’t get enough of. A certain something that we think you need to see for yourself. So step right up and enter the twistedly dark yet colorfully hopeful world of mad contradictions from Jeff Skele Sheely! – madelyn olson

Two Dagger Tony — Jeff Skele Sheely

battle beast — Jeff Skele Sheely

toxic — Jeff Skele Sheely

God Less America — Jeff Skele Sheely

high in the sky — Jeff Skele Sheely

nightcat — Jeff Skele Sheely

battle tested — Jeff Skele Sheely

she gave it all — Jeff Skele Sheely

jambones — Jeff Skele Sheely

the batman — Jeff Skele Sheely

A bit about Jeff: Maybe creativity is a genetic thing, maybe the inspiration to make art is tied to a specific turn of the DNA strand; whatever, nature or nurture, Jeff Skele Sheely has always been an artist.

He began as an athlete, displaying uncanny artistic talent on the soccer field. He was talented and expected to “go places”, having won a Fullbright scholarship for his soccer prowess. Then, at age 21, just as he was perfecting his craft as an athlete, he blew out both his knees. Oof! Abrupt and sudden; he was faced with the prospect of no more soccer.

He started to draw during this period of reflection and transition. As he pondered over what he would do next, it became evident that his “next” was emerging from his sketchpad. As he recovered from his knee injuries, working odd jobs around Virginia Beach and associating with local graffiti artists, he started to explore the addition of color to his palette. He moved to Dallas in the Spring of 2013 to pursue his work (and his love, singer/composer, Poppy Xander) with full time focus.

He paints in his garage in the heat of summer and retreats indoors to his sketchpad in the cold of winter. His manic characters embody his daily work routine; fueled by beer, Red Bull and cigarettes. His art is arresting and aggressive, just like his soccer playing used to be. Bold colors and satirical themes permeate his work and challenge us observers to examine our icons.

His work, like his ambition, is ever driven by the will to win. His art works are the trophies of his creative triumphs. Let’s open our minds and our eyes to the emergence of his ascendancy. Just as Jeff says, “I feel like I want to rule all you motherfuckers,” appreciating his art is to want to be ruled.