The Spirits Still Dance Painting

BIOGRAPHY: Building on a love for narrative, color and a design, Joel began painting full-time 25 years ago. He was heavily influenced by his experience of the intense blues of the skies and waters and fiery sunsets in his native Florida. Initially, he enrolled in workshops at the Maitland Art Center near Orlando, and he has continued to study, being largely self-taught. Joel works exclusively in oils, which lend vibrant, natural expression to his work. His bold, contemporary canvases invite the viewer to join him in exploring a world of the imagination and the human spirit, one that is at times surreal, and frequently symbolic. As Joel says: "If I were to ask anything of the viewer, it would be that they bring their own thoughts, questions, investigations, and heart to bear on what they see in my work." Joel’s work is represented in public, corporate, and private collections in the United States, Canada, England, and Mexico, as well as galleries in Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, Grace, a writer, and paints full time as part of a consortium of artists at the Urban Art Collective in nearby Chamblee. ARTIST'S STATEMENT: Sometimes we see what no one looks for--images that have waited for us to find them. If we are lucky, these images will wait while we try to capture them with paint on canvas or with sculpture. They will probably change as we reach for them. I believe that if we clearly and honestly record what we see, we will be surprised, enriched, and sometimes stunned by what we’ve found. That recording and the discovery that comes with it is what drives all of my work. There is almost always a narrative in my work as I believe that a story may be introduced in a scene. The viewer must fill in the before and after with unique eyes and experience, but enough can be presented to set a challenging stage if the work is successful. I am happily an interactive painter. A single line, dot, or hint of color will generate question after question which call for visual answers. That’s where the excitement is for me--a journey on canvas toward an elusive, teasing, essential mystery. I like to mix the surreal and the real. In truth, there is little difference to me as I work. Finally, and always, there is a spiritual quest in my paintings.