Before fans snapped photos of country artist Jason Aldean’s May 27 performance at Bayou Country Superfest, one spectator captured Aldean’s likeness slightly more meticulously. Baton Rouge visual artist and live painter Jacob Zumo brushed a painting of Aldean, finishing it off with an LSU insignia before presenting the portrait to the country-rock star prior to his performance. This meeting wasn’t scheduled. Zumo arranged the meeting through a friend working the festival who managed to bring Zumo to Aldean’s trailer. “He ended up giving me his pass back there and we went to his RV,” Zumo explained. “We kind of took a chance on doing it – he told me the morning of.” Zumo’s painting complemented a growing list of iconic portraits he began about three months ago. These include Lil Wayne, Drake, Snoop Dogg and Juvenile, all of which he presented to the respective artists. As with Aldean’s, presenting these paintings can prove difficult, Zumo explained. “That’s kind of how it’s been with the celebrities,” he said. “It’s a chance you take – if we get it to them, we get it to them.” Zumo’s celebrity artwork began with local hip-hop artist Kevin Gates. After he presented Gates with his portrait at a Varsity performance, Zumo networked with some concert goers who connected him with Drake, which ultimately allowed him to later meet with Snoop Dogg. Much of Zumo’s current work focuses on live painting, which includes some of his celebrity art as well. This art means Zumo creates paintings in venues with attendees present, which he explained can prove stressful. “It’s in front of people, people are questioning you while you’re doing it, there’s a time limit,” he listed off. Zumo said these events allow painters a set time, usually two to three hours, to complete large pieces of art. As they paint, artists must manage how quickly but also how vividly they work, applyng elements like the music of the surrounding scene to their piece, Zumo explained. His past passion for athletics largely influenced Zumo’s newfound fondness for live art, he said. He played high school basketball and eventually won a scholarship to Belhaven University in Mississippi before suffering a career-ending injury. Since then, he’s learned to apply this athletic drive to live art. “It takes that high stress, under the moment thing,” he said. “That’s where my focus has gone – competitiveness – into battles.” Zumo said he plans to continue this work with live art, expanding into new business arenas with the help of his mentor Christopher Turner, who introduced him to live art. “We’re trying to put my stuff in bigger galleries and maybe go into a bigger market,” Zumo said. “That’s why I’m working with Chris. He’s trying to get me into the right places and the right markets.”
 
—- Contact Austen Krantz at [email protected].