Community Base Graffiti Wall Arts with Jonathan Lamb

Born in Atlanta and raised in Cincinnati, Jon studied Fine Art at Fort Lewis College in Durango and moved to Denver in 2004. He set up shop in 2008 in the RiNo Art District, where his artistic hustle didn’t stop, whether orchestrating live painting shows, making prints with Like Minded Productions, or painting and exhibiting throughout the U.S., Caribbean and Europe. “For me creating art is the same as eating,” he said, “I have to do it as part of my daily, lunar, business week cycle. It’s in me to make.” As he established roots in RiNo, Jon developed strong relationships with other entrepreneurs and developed a reputation for strong customer service. As trust grew, Jon collaborated with others to expand CRUSH Walls and secure walls for emerging street artists—many of whom had their first break due to his efforts. His eye for talent led him to dynamic curation projects such as CRUSH Walls, Snowball Music Festival and Dairy Block.

Kingston, Jamaica — Continuing on their mantra of ‘painting through the tunnel of love’, US-based fine artists Jon and Lindsey ‘Lindz and Lamb’  Lamb have collaborated with local artists to touch up seven (7) murals in an effort to uplift the students and surrounding communities. The journey to this project can be described as a ‘divine alignment’ of sorts as all signs seemed to point to them collaborating with the local (and non-local) art community to execute.

The wheels began turning in 2019 when Lindz and Lamb came to Jamaica to paint at Kaya Kingston, upon invitation by the CEO of Kaya Herbhouse, Balram Vaswanni. While there, they met up with numerous artists, one such artist-turned-friend, Patrick Gogh asked them to make a commitment to returning and painting at the Haile Selassie High School – to which they agreed. “I had no idea what that would entail or what it even meant at the time,” Lindz said. “However, the Universe definitely guided us into fulfilling that commitment. Painting schools is what I know; personally, my Dad was head painter of 52 schools and I witnessed what art means to the community.”

In addition to having virtual talks with Andrea Chung of Kingston Creative on partnering with the local industry, Lamb met up with Grammy-nominated Reggae star Jesse Royal after a show in Colorado and he (Royal) encouraged Lamb to help his Alma Mater. “He said come down to the school (Haile Selassie) and paint and I said – that’s what we do and that’s what we’re doing. We’re just kicking the year off. It’s been rough with COVID – no matter where you’re from- so if we can do something positive and spread good news and vibes, then that’s what we’re gonna do.” Lamb said.

Lindz and Lamb have painted locally at the Bob Marley Museum, Tuff Gong Studios and Kaya Kingston and have plans to further collaborate with more creatives and help to enrich the entire community in whatever way they can. “I just want to give back to a culture that has given me so much,” Lamb said. “We’re not interested in being the voices of the project – we just want this to be the spark to effect more change.”

The project commenced on Wednesday (January 5) and will come to a close on Saturday (January 15). Lindz and Lamb have collaborated with both local and international artists: Eye Dealist, Jude Issa, Taj Tenfold, Just Created It, Vector Papi and Klonism,  — in not only creating the murals but also making themselves available to students and staff for mentorship. The latter is in an effort to facilitate additional programming geared towards exchanging knowledge and skill from the artists to the youth. 

Full interview: