Jesse Michaels

Jesse Michaels is a musician, writer and visual artist best known for his work singing for the legendary punk band, Operation Ivy. Since the era of that band, Michaels has developed a painting practice and has had solo exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and San Francisco. He continues to work on art and music in Los Angeles. "I do paintings on a couple different levels — illustration, commercial, and fine art. It's sometimes hard to know exactly what those different terms mean or where the boundaries are between them, but I like it that way. Everything is always informed by the same spirit as the spirit of making music — raw energy, having fun and discovering new ideas along the way." For his collaboration with Compound Editions Jesse chose to create a picture that both showcases his explosive (and very painterly) illustration style, and pays homage to his musical roots.