Jesse Sublett has been influential force in Austin culture since the late 1970s, when he was a founding member of The Skunks and The Violators, Austin’s first two punk bands. Many of the first punk gig flyers in Austin featured Jesse’s graphics, an outgrowth of his adolescent ambition to become a famous cartoonist and poet.

He is the author of 16 published books, including crime novels and nonfiction books such as “1960s Austin Gangsters,” “Last Gangster in Austin,” “Armadillo World Headquarters: A Memoir,” and “Never the Same Again” that cemented his reputation as an author. The Austin American Statesman has called him “one of Austin’s best living writers.”  

As a visual artist, Jesse is known for his depictions of bird life and nature that engage and challenge the viewer to pay closer attention to nature and their personal relationship with the outside world. His bold, often whimsical acrylic paintings of birds in urban settings capture the unique character of Austin, where nature and city life coexist in a dynamic, evolving dance. 

Jesse’s conversion as a birder came in late 1997: “I had just been diagnosed with Stage IV throat cancer and my odds of survival were in the single digits. On a walk around Lady Bird Lake, I stopped to watch a great blue heron. I heard him speaking to me. Suddenly, I knew I was going to make it. I also knew that going forward, birds were going to be a big part of my life.”

His work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and juried exhibitions. His pictures have been published in Texas Highways, the Desert Trumpet and The Purple Martin Update.

Jesse Sublett has been married to Lois Richwine since 1984. They live in Austin with three cats.

IG: @jessesublett.visualart

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