Mural Joe
Artist & Educator
I was born August 5th 1979. I loved drawing and spent a lot of time doing creative works from as far back as I can remember. It wasn't until 2005 that I decided to try being a muralist. I had worked as a paint contractor and laborer out of high school with no higher education and wanted to give painting artistically a try. I found myself hungry for practical answers to how visual effects are achieved in paintings. I was so frustrated when I couldn't find how something works. So when I did finally figure something out, I wanted to share it. YouTube became a center for instructional videos right about the time that I was gaining a reputation as a local muralist is Flagstaff, Az. It was actually the CEO of Showit Inc, Todd Watson, that gave me my first camera and showed me how to make a time lapse video and post it online. The MuralJoe YouTube channel was born shortly after and has since become a high priority for the business. Today, my work is about finding answers. Answers that I can count on to bring my imagination to life and give me the ability to create. I hope that my findings are helpful to you and your work as well. I thank God for the beauty and mystery all around us that he has let me see and research. It's my honor to share that research with you. I don't consider myself to be of any exceptional understanding or ability. I just have a relentless sense of wonder that can't rest until I find answers to my questions about our responses to what we see and how it all works. You won't see me reference many books or other works. I'm not against them by any means. Read all that you can. That just wasn't my path. That's only because the things that I teach come from results of my own experiments to test my own questions and theories.
ABOUT JOE
More >>>
Dilligent work is more valuable than hard work.
I came to Flagstaff, AZ from Ohio in '94. I started doing residential and commercial repaints as a laborer after I was fired from my grocery store job in '99. We can't all be good at everything now can we. I've been painting murals for about eight years now. Since I started as a contractor, rather than an artist, I still take a contractor's approach to all of my jobs. I don't like nonsense and I don't like terms that can't be defined. I'm into pleasing my customers and doing exactly what we set out to do. To me, art is best when the artist works hard to learn the guidelines and then uses them to show the viewers something they would not have otherwise seen. I have a lot of improving to do and you can rest assured that I'm working hard to master this art of painting..although I don't believe it can ever be done. I give credit where it's do and many better artists than myself have inspired me. I must say that this career choice has caused me to see many beauties of Gods creation. All of nature is truly balanced in the midst of hostile forces. I trust in Jesus Christ as my God and savior and I believe He will one day restore all creation from it's current state of frustration. To not trust in God, who inspires me and drives me to become better every day, is just not realistic.
Creativity is one of the most wonderful gifts in life. We all seem to have some form of it to share. I have so enjoyed posting how-to videos and being part of a knowledge sharing trend. It thrills me to think that I have helped others in there quest to understand art. I hope to do a lot more in the future. I always did hated trade secrets. If I ever see one on any subject of art or painting then you can bet I'm going to try to post a video about it. Free info rocks. I truly desire for other workers and artists to find the same happiness and success that I have.
So many friends and family have helped me and believed in me along the way. I have to thank my wife, Christy, for loving me and supporting me in my adventures. Thank you Dad for always encouraging me. Thank you Ben Cornelius my brother, for being awesome and for All the excellent videos you've made for me. Thank you Todd Watson (Showit) my friend, for teaching me how to use a camera and the web and helping me all along the way.
