Meet Jon Marro | Artist. Filmmaker. Vision Sower.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jon Marro and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jon, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I believe people come to me for my unique set of creative gifts. 1.) More than an “artist” or “creative director” I refer to myself as a “Vision Sower.” I plant seeds of imagination in the minds, hearts, eyes and ears of the collective conscious. I have an ability to see – in my mind’s eye – images when I hear my clients talk about their brands, visions or ideas. Their words crystalize into symbols – a visual metaphoric language inside my imagination and 2.) I have the skillset to to bring those ethereal images into form through paint and or pixel. I also find that my work speaks for itself – almost all of my clients come to me through referral by seeing my work somewhere else. It’s as if the artifacts I leave resonate and speak to the souls who are meant to find me. My work itself has always been the best and most effective marketing.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art is my medicine. Sometimes I don’t know how I truly feel about something until I make art about it. It’s guided me through break-ups, parent’s divorce, the loss of my father and the ongoing madness and beauty always going on in the world at large.

From the time I could hold a crayon, I was drawing. After an idyllic childhood surrounded by the lakes, rivers and mountains of Vermont, skipping along pondsides and looking under mossy rocks and rotting logs, I attended the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. There I obtained a BA in Illustration and an MA in Digital Art and Imagery and not long after graduation became a freelance, Fractional Creative Director working for individuals and organizations in the music and entertainment industry, health and wellness fields and alongside many diverse, forward-thinking activists.

I think my love and connection with the natural world and unique blending of analog and digital artistry sets me apart from others in my field. I can’t say my path has ever “easy” but looking over my illustrative career, I will say my creativity has allowed me to follow my interests and has connected me to talented, fascinating, big-hearted people up to remarkable things in the world.

Some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is the necessity to always be intentional creating space for one’s own calling, art and ideas. For a good chunk of my career most of my days were spent doing work for clients to pay the bills – fulfilling their dreams and visions, while putting my own projects in the “one day I’ll get to that” pile. It has been so soul fulfilling to follow the whims of my own imagination and have written and illustrated 3 books and directed a “Provocumentary” film called The Opening. To help others achieve their own personal goals, I created an offering called “Integrity For Your Imagination” where I work with individuals to bring their dreams from fantasy into form. Maybe they want to write a book, start a business or follow that wild idea that keeps them up at night. Together, we co-create a structure that holds them accountable to take action and fulfill on the things (they already know) they need to do.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m a North County resident, and foodie so I really love all the little beach towns and cafes up and down the coast. Any tour that I’d take someone on, would definitely center around food. For a fun itinerary in no-particular order, I’d probably bring someone to The Giant Dipper, the old Wooden Roller Coaster in Mission Beach. We’d definitely have to hop in the ocean, probably in Carlsbad or Encinitas or bring our pups to the dog beach in Del Mar. I’d definitely take them to the Leucadia Farmers Market – grab a green juice from The Yellow Deli, some meat from Da-Le Ranch, a loaf of Sourdough from The Bread Underground and some organic produce from various vendors. I’d be sure to swing by Nectarine Grove in Encinitas for a Decaf Loaded Chagacinno, do lunch at Q’ero a Peruvian Restaurant and get some retail therapy at the flagship Vouri store for the most comfy clothes on the planet. I’d be sure to catch some live music with a show at The Belly Up in Solana Beach. And then I’d be sure to showcase the wonders of Oceanside by grabbing my laptop and getting properly caffeinated at Jitter’s Coffee Shop, grabbing a scoop of ice cream at Little Fox, delighting in some authentic traditional Mexican at Mariettas, getting some community acupuncture and round it off with some Indian food at Tumeric Hut. Yum.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would love to dedicate my shoutout to my close collaborator, friend and spiritual brother: Báyò Akómoláfé. Báyò is a Nigerian poet, fugitive philosopher and self-proclaimed: “post-activist.” We started to collaborate over the pandemic as I illustrated one of his essays and no single client of mine has created such a stylistic and cataclysmic shift in my work’s identity. I often joke with Báyò saying most of the time his only art direction and feedback for me is “can you make it stranger and more shocking?” For so many years I had the experience that many of my clients came to me to make them look cool (which I still do and am great at) but Bayo, was less concerned with needing to fit in, be accepted – he was never afraid of taking risks, pushing boundaries and playing with the edges. He encouraged me to scour my soul to find imagery and visions hiding deep inside the subconscious cracks. Our work and friendship and collaboration has redefined me as an artist – reminded me of my love for the subversive, soulful and surreal. You can learn more and dive into his wild, enchanting, disruptively beautiful worldview on his site: https://www.bayoakomolafe.net

Website: https://jonmarro.com

Instagram: https://jonmarro.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonmarro/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@worldswithin