Everyday Notes: Jerry Montoya’s Post-it Portraits

Sadly, it’s a fact of life that almost all artists have to work a “day job” to earn a living and any art-making they can squeeze in happens in the evenings and on weekends. A few years back, while working at a warehouse, Jerry Montoya would spend his break time drawing in a sketchbook. His coworkers got a glimpse of his sketches and started asking him to create something for them. With Post-it notes being nearby and plentiful, he chose them as the base for his pencil. They turned out to be the perfect media for his compulsive drawing habit.

Jerry says, “In that moment I realized there was something really nice about it. Without hours and hours of work I had finished a drawing to be proud of. I kept it up while on break and would put the drawings up on the walls around my desk. Post-it notes became a way, with a busy life, to get something done.”

Born from a failed adhesive at 3M, the Post-it was designed for temporary reminders—"buy milk" or "call mom." Montoya refuses to accept this ephemeral nature by placing highly-detailed, permanent portraits on them.

Each 3x3-inch square contains the technical density of a work ten times its size. Using graphite pencils, an eraser, and a white ink pen, Montoya manages to capture the gesture, expression, and the detailed specificity of the subject’s features. These portraits don’t just resemble the sitter, they tell a story of a time, a place, an event, a mood, a personality.

Before the digital age, creating a photo took effort; you needed a camera, film, and a way to process and print. Today, we have smart phones and we compulsively take photos of ourselves and the people around us. Then we share them with the world through social media. Montoya is also constantly capturing images and his daily drawings are posted on Instagram and Facebook.

But while digital photos are often filtered and curated, Montoya’s hand-drawn portraits are unprocessed. They’re a tactile, handmade version of a social media feed. They track the passage of time, the fatigue of a long day, the energy of a child, and the quiet introspection of a man studying a face.

Jerry draws self-portraits but his primary subjects are his wife and two children. This isn't just an artistic choice; it’s an act of love and devotion. To draw your child or your spouse every day is to study them with a level of intensity that photography cannot match. You aren't just clicking a shutter; you’re holding onto a moment before it vanishes.

Jerry’s tiny works of art feel like a rebellion against the fast-paced, disposable nature of digital content. They demand that the viewer stop, zoom in, and appreciate the time poured into a few square inches. Jerry reminds us that lives are worthy of being recorded with meticulous care.