Some of Joe's earliest memories are camping trips to the Eastern High Sierras and
taking walks with his father down the railroad tracks to the rabbit fields near his home.
This was his wilderness as a child and he credits his father for his early introduction to
nature and the outdoors.
Joe's first art instruction began early in school when he would receive instruction on how
to create shadows on simple shapes using a pencil and paper. This really began Joe's
enthusiasm for drawing. One summer while visiting an art fair in Mammoth Lakes
California he came across some drawings by Helen Seal, a southern California artist.
The beautiful simplicity of her High Sierra sketches made a lasting impression on the
young artist. At that moment he says, "This was something I knew I wanted to do." His
mother recognizing his obvious enthusiasm purchased one of her drawings, which still
hangs in his studio. He admires contemporary artists such as Clyde Aspevig, Matt Smith
and T. Allen Lawson as well as many others.
Joe is best known for his landscapes. He is greatly influenced by the changing of
seasons and weather, and the more dramatic the weather, the more inspired he feels.
" Light on the landscape and the way it plays with and reveals its forms and color is
extremely seductive to me. Painting on location and in the studio is a way I can interact,
participate and respond to the magnificence I see." Joe celebrates the moods each
season brings and he works on location often to accurately see and capture the changing
light.
Joe holds signature membership with the Pastel Society of America, and The Rocky
Mountain Plein Air Painters. In 2007 The Pastel Society of the West Coast elected Joe
to "Distinguished Pastelist." His work has been published in the Pastel Journal’s “The
Years Best” in 2004 and 2005. His collectors include film producer Lawrence Kasden
and actor Kevin Kneeland. His work has exhibited in the Napa Valley Art Museum and
hangs in private collections throughout the United States.
Photo: Carl Mancuso