Caleb Jay Colours

Quit your job, pack a U-Haul, and show up everywhere like you belong there. That’s exactly what Caleb did with $70 to his name and now he’s been painting murals for 12 years. 🎨🚚🔥 Watch the full interview on YouTube or check out my newsletters. Links in bio!

Falling In Love w/ Atomic Orchard 🍂 🖌️ as captured by @and_rew_and_you . . . The mural will be the embodiment of “If the Walls Could Speak.” Capturing the voice of @thepianofarm in pixel form. The art created by Mike Yun of @knotstudio.pdx will be like nothing this city has ever seen. We’re dodging the rain and integrating the warm colors of fall into this behemoth of a project. Thousands of squares to go but we’re not letting a little water 💦 stop the creativity from flowing. Thank you to my assistants @leo.shallat @littlecilantro @dannystephensart and @tylershrakepaints for helping bring this to life!

Between large scale murals. Little sign painting jobs are what keeps it going. @evpdxco

Our custom Trail Blazers rock designed by @calebjay.art , courtesy the @NBAonNBC and Peacock!

✨ Time Capsules ✨ I paint more murals than I ever end up posting. Sometimes it just feels better to live the experience than stress over the perfect shot. So I’m catching up, posting the murals I’ve painted or been a part of, calling them Time Capsules. The first Time Capsule is: Mini Tahoma, a 175’ long, multi-tiered mural in Tacoma, WA. Designed by the incredible @ryanfeddersen , the project was led by @dancohencreativelabs , with @define_arts and I assisting. Painted in June 2020, during the height of the pandemic, this project was both a challenge and a gift to be part of. The mural carries the life of the decommissioned water wall, depicting beaded embroidery of berries and floral. The Tribal Nations of Eastern Washington are known for their intricate beadwork—originally porcupine quillwork, later transformed with glass beads introduced by Europeans. Embroidery was often taught in Indian boarding schools, framed as “women’s work” in places that aimed to strip Native children of their culture and traditions. This mural honors that artistry and history while transforming a public wall into something vibrant and alive. Looking back, painting Mini Tahoma in the middle of 2020 was more than just making a mural. It was a way to connect, to contribute, and to hold onto the power of community at a time when everything felt uncertain and disconnected. #TimeCapsules #Murals #MiniTahoma #TacomaArt #CommunityArt

Long Division

Artist and gallerist Caleb Jay has been hard at work creating an homage to Portland’s historic Old Town Chinatown District. Located between VooDoo Donuts and the Paris Theater (under renovation). Once complete, this mural will feature tributes to the Skidmore Fountain, Chinatown Gate, Burnside Bridge, and more!  Final photos coming soon! 📸 @sarasjol 📍22 SW 3rd Ave Mural Sponsors: City of Portland @calebjay.art #OldTown #oldtownpdx #DowntownPDX #WestsidePortland#Calebjayart #pdxstreetart #portlandstreetart #pdxart #portlandart #portlandoregon #pdxmurals #portlandmurals #commission #cityofportland #voodoodonuts

Sun Wuji Spray paint, ink, markers & pen on paper. The millions of stars that blanket the sky— they shine only because they’re surrounded by the vast, unfathomable emptiness of space. This piece is about that paradox: how the chaos, the swirl, the fire isn’t the opposite of peace— it’s the path to it. In meditation, you don’t start in silence. You start with everything screaming at once. Thoughts, memories, noise, grief, joy— all rising like cosmic flames. Until suddenly… nothing. Just the quiet. And the quiet is infinite. She is that stillness. She is the flame. She is the space between the stars. Sun Wuji.

#wip

Closer than I was before I started.. Doodling about digital paralysis through over consumption. Caught in the World Wide Web. All of us fighting becoming pacifists to our own struggle. . . #ink #caught #drawing #cyberpunk #pacified

The Axolotl: Suspended in Time ✨🌊 In Aztec mythology, the axolotl is a creature caught in the space between—between water and land, growth and stasis, transformation and preservation. The god Xolotl, fleeing sacrifice, became this being of eternal suspension, refusing to fully evolve, yet never ceasing to exist. In my pen and ink drawing, the axolotl floats in that liminal space, patterns interwoven like a web of possibilities, gills like fractals of frozen motion. It is neither here nor there, a symbol of resilience and the refusal to conform to a singular fate. Suspended in time, in the in-between, it simply is. #Axolotl #Mythology #LiminalSpace #SuspendedInTime #Transformation #PenAndInk #HandDrawn

Today is my birthday. I wasn’t born today. My spirit was… . . Three years ago, on February 28th, 2022, I broke my leg in two places. It was a moment that changed everything. We don’t choose the day we’re born, but there are moments in life that force us to be reborn. That injury wasn’t just about healing physically—it was the catalyst for so much more. At the time, I was already at a low point. Murals had become my main artistic outlet, but they demanded a level of physicality I suddenly didn’t have. I couldn’t walk, and soon I realized I hadn’t been walking emotionally for a long time either. A year later, in February, I had what I can only describe as a, world shattering, emotional breakdown. Even though my body had healed, my spirit still had to learn how to stand again. Starting over became the only option. Work, friendships, and community—everything had to be rebuilt. I threw myself into art, working 40 hours a week while organizing shows and painting murals. It was exhilarating. It was exhausting. It was the best of times and the worst of times. In that whirlwind, I lost my best friend, Captain Mittens, to cancer. I traveled to Europe. I moved five times in four months. I was still struggling to walk, but somehow, I kept moving forward, creating memories, connections, and a new sense of self. This past year, things finally leveled out. I embraced my life instead of just trying to keep up with it. I learned to rest—because, in the past, when I didn’t, life made the choice for me. We’ve now had a full year at @rollup_pdx and three years of group art shows through @colours_pdx . I’ve found incredible friendships, both old and new. Looking back, I’m grateful even for the times my world fell apart—because, through them, I found my worth. If you’re in a hard place right now, know that it won’t last forever. Keep going. Keep walking. Thank you for being part of this journey. If we’ve shared a moment in these last three years, I love you, and I hope you know that.