|
|
Joe was raised in southern Arizona. After serving in the United States Marine Corps, he attended Milan’s School of Art in Tucson, studying commercial art and painting. He then moved to Phoenix where he worked as a corporate and freelance commercial artist. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Art Education from Arizona State University, he taught Art in the public schools and local colleges in northern Arizona. In 1975, he moved back to southern Arizona where he received a Master’s degree in Painting from the University of Arizona. In 1990, he moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico where he resided until 2004. He now has a home and studio in Corrales, NM.
The Mobile Studio
For a location artist there are other difficulties in addition to actually trying to do a painting. There is the squandered time assembling and disassembling the portable easel, pallet, shade umbrella, and other necessities. There is the ongoing battle of the elements of nature: the bitter cold, or the heat that brings the biting bugs that make concentration almost impossible. There are winds that can disassemble and diffuse your equipment with a single gust. And, when painting in populous areas, there are the onlookers who are understandably curious and feel compelled to make conversation.
After years of combating these distractions, I had a custom-built mobile studio constructed. Now, the time between inspiration and putting a brush to canvas is minimal. The mobile studio is a tall camper shell fully stocked with the same materials and supplies as my Corrales studio. There are three windows at eye level that open outwards and allow me to view the landscape without the obstruction of a dirty window or a window screen. For extended painting trips, the studio doubles as a camper with a collapsible bed, a camping stove, and icebox.
|
