Taking a Calculated Risk and Pursuing a Passion

How Jeffrey Meszaros found success as a full-time artist

Words By: Breanna Mroczek Photography By: Lauren Meszaros

While working as a bartender almost two decades ago, Jeffrey Adam Meszaros (JAM) collected colourful bottle caps and, because they reminded him of paint, started experimenting with bottle cap mosaic art. “These bottle caps hold memories, they’re witnesses to moments,” Meszaros says. “Maybe you opened a beer because your team just won a game, or you’re meeting up with a buddy after a breakup. I see these bottle caps as little moments, and when I make a mosaic it’s like this image is made up of all these different moments.”

In October 2022, after getting commissions from the Chicago Bulls and Labatt, and looking for work-life balance after the birth of his first child, Meszaros decided to take a calculated risk and leave a stable job in renewable energy to pursue art full time. Within a week of leaving his job, Meszaros got a commission from a distillery in Austin, Texas for two murals. “I took that as a good sign and a confidence boost,” he says. But after that, things slowed down so Meszaros just started making pieces he thought would sell well. When a portrait of David Bowie he made for a friend went viral on TikTok, and inquiries and commissions started pouring in, Meszaros was able to quadruple his prices within that first year alone just to align with the demand. Now, customers wait 12 months to get a custom piece from JAM Bottle Cap Art.

Meszaros says social media has been essential to supporting his full-time artistic career and having had some viral moments is just icing on the cake. If you spend any time on TikTok, you may be one of the 2.4 million people (and counting) who have seen his portrait of Anthony Bourdain made entirely out of bottle caps.

“Social media is almost everything, nowadays,” Meszaros says. “It’s kind of a necessary evil. You could probably make it as an artist without social media, but it really helps—especially if you’re someone in my shoes who’s trying to get going.” Meszaros maintains an active social media presence to find clients and showcase his personality. “I like talking to people, I like interacting with people. I often buy art because of the artist behind it, so I also wanted to put myself out there. I think people like that personal side of my social media.”

Despite the demand for his work, Meszaros still makes time for his own projects. After working with bottle caps for 17 years, he is confident in his talent as a mosaic portrait artist, and is starting to dabble in new mediums.

“I’m trying to push myself artistically,” Meszaros says. “I want to try different things like more three-dimensional sculptures, or pieces with movement in them. I want to try different materials. I want to play a bit more with a different sense and dimensions of my art.”

Meszaros is in the experimentation phase of new styles of art and says he’s excited to (eventually) share what he’s working on. No need to worry, fans and followers; his signature bottle cap art will remain the backbone of his artistic practice.