A brief interview with Rebecca Paul, Savannah College, 2003.

Rebecca- What was the progression of your career?

Joe- My "career" is in perpetual turmoil. A sort of limbo if you will. It comes and goes when I'm lucky enough to make a sale or get some work. I've mostly been working for myself. Before, during and after art school. It's not enough to make a living but it helps. I have been doing record covers, magazine covers, and from time to time I'll get a commissioned piece. Progression is such an odd word because it really feels like I haven't progressed very far in a career sense. But artistically and technically I feel that I have made great waves.

Rebecca- How did you promote yourself as an artist?

Joe- There is no did, You're always trying to promote yourself as an artist. It's the worst part of trying to be a painter. The most successful artists have great business skills. I am not one of them. I've tried everything. Some of it works. I've sent out samples to many companies, I've sent out portfolios, I've sent out books. I've even toured across the US twice giving out promotional material and selling prints and books. Most of the time I get a letter back explaining that my subject matter is not one that fits their publication. I've been told that persistence is key. I usually just stop sending things out until I've got another body of work I like and start trying again. It's hard enough painting things but if you want to make a mark I guess you've got to be one heck of a promoter and have some serious business sense.

Rebecca- How did you develop your style?

Joe- This was something I lucked out with. I have been working along the same lines since I was in high school. I found myself to have a really dedicated art teacher. He pushed me to look into my own style. It has developed quite a lot over the years. I do my best to take in everything around me but at the same time focus on what it is I want to do with my time at hand.

Rebecca- What medium do you work with the most and what is your process?

Joe- I work with acrylics mostly. You don't have to wait hours or days for them to dry and you can work with them on an opaque level as well as a wash. I will usually draw everything out on tracing paper. It's thin enough to transfer easily and if you're having composition problems you can draw things out and slide them around until you find what you like then redraw. After my drawing is complete I will transfer onto gesso covered masonite. I work background to foreground. Painting the furthest areas in the back and masking off everything else. Using masks helps keep brush strokes going in the same directions without having to lose your drawing. You also can keep more control over color this way. When working with Acrylics, it's important to get a good pallet, something that will keep your paints from drying out. I use a lot of pictures I take and have collected a good amount of books on subjects I like for source material.

Rebecca- Where do you find your inspiration?

Joe- Everything around is inspiration. Be it good or bad. If you have ideas in your head then you have something to cement down. Music inspires me a lot. When I'm listening to something I like I can't stop painting.

Rebecca- Do you ever feel uninspired?, and if so how do you break away from that?

Joe- I've felt unproductive. I've lied in my bed all day long trying to get up. But my head is always going on about something. I usually break out if it by coating a bunch of surfaces with gesso and forcing myself to sit down and get to work.

Rebecca- What personal experiences have influenced you as and artist?

Joe- The knowing that nothing will ever be the way you intend it to be. That being part of the living is being part of a world that contradicts it's own existence. That horror is grinding it's teeth at us every day. And beauty comes through in the little things we attach ourselves to. So I suppose watching has influenced me.

Rebecca- What artists have inspired you?

Joe- Salvador Dali was my hero when I was younger. I still think he is an amazing artist. Kurt Vonnegut is probably my personal favorite. He can write like no other. The band No Means No has always been a huge inspiration. They have been making original music for years and I have never grown tired of it. Robert Williams, Mark Ryden, Frida Karlo, Winston Smith, and Francis Bacon would be among some of my favorite painters.

Rebecca- Do you have any advice for a nervous art student?

Joe- No reason not to be nervous, you're going to try and make a living with thousands of people trying to do the same exact thing. If you are serious about what you are doing you will do it anyway, no matter the pitfalls and hurdles. Illustration is a hard business to get into, especially if you're doing something that is considered non-commercial. I'm having a hell of a time breaking into the art world, and I really don't consider myself to have gotten very far. But I'm doing it and I can't stop. All I know is that it would be nice to run across your name somewhere and say to myself "Hey I helped that person with a paper for school and now she's huge! I wonder if she'll help me out?"

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