SOBO Artist of the Month: Joseph "Joe" Warren

The mission of the Winter Garden Art Association is to showcase, encourage and celebrate individual creativity and artistic expression among local artists.

West Orange County is teeming with artists whose talents range from visual to performing to literary arts. Whether they are expressing themselves with a microphone, paint brush and canvas, or the written word, artists and their creations give us avenues in which to imagine, dream and wonder.

In this feature, the Observer and the WGAA will highlight a local artist monthly.

This month, meet Joseph “Joe” Warren, a resident of Oakland. For more information on the artist and his art, visit warrenpaintings.com.

How long have you been creating?   

I’ve been producing artwork my entire life, and since retiring at the end of 2013, I have had the opportunity to focus on my lifelong passion for painting.

What are your favorite medium(s)?

For traditional mediums, I prefer oil paint and watercolor. I use digital medium, specifically Photoshop, as a composition tool.

What are your favorite themes in your artwork?

Figure painting has always interested me, imagery of people in action or involved in interaction with each other and other things or pets. The exploration of activities drives the compositions. These activities define them and give insight to the complexities of personalities. Like my other paintings, I like a saturated color palette in approaching figure painting. 

Specifically, the beach has always interested me. Having grown up in the Santa Monica Canyon area of Southern California, the beach was always in walking distance. It was a place of renewal, a place of reflection, a place of sanctuary and, of course, a place of recreation. As I was entering my teen years, the surf craze which drove the California beach culture or pop culture, was catching on and was quickly becoming a phenomenon. It influenced language, music, fashion, all facets of everyday life. It’s no wonder the beach had an effect on me. Consequently, I keep coming back to it for inspiration and find the imagery quite compelling.

A spinoff of people at the beach is finding people congregating in public areas, such as outdoor markets and theme parks. I find the density of communal activity compelling.

Another theme in art I find compelling is pop art. Popular imagery composed so that on the surface it appears to be unrelated. In short, I just want to have fun with otherwise disconnected elements.

Why is expressing yourself through art important to you?

As a child through my adult and professional life, I’ve always enjoyed producing artwork. I enjoy the tactile quality of paint on canvas or paper and find the use of PhotoShop as a useful tool in composing my paintings.

Do you have a formal art education? If so, where and when?

I earned a Bachelor of Arts in graphic art from San Diego State University in June 1970. I continued on with my art training by attending the University of Wisconsin, Madison, earning my Master of Arts in 1971 and my Master of Fine Arts in 1972. Both degrees were in painting, drawing and design.

What professional experience do you have?

I have professional experience in the field of 2D art. What I learned from my work experience also informed me as a painter. I taught drawing at Wayne State University. Internationally, I taught painting and drawing and was the head of the Department of Fine Art at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. I have also exhibited paintings nationally and internationally. My experience living in East Africa has proven to be indelible.

Upon my return from East Africa, my career diverted from fine art to interior design. For eight years, I worked as an interior designer specializing in hospitality design for Holiday Inns in Memphis, Tennessee.       

After an exciting and fulfilling career at Walt Disney Imagineering, I retired at the end of 2013. As the lead creative designer, I managed a team of artists and creative designers along with a variety of design driven projects for the Walt Disney World portfolio. My creative responsibilities included concept artwork to illustrate a variety of ideas for themed environments and assisted project teams assigned to developing Disney theme parks, attractions, resorts and the Disney cruise ships. I also created artwork for reproduction, and many of my creations are on display throughout the Disney theme parks and resorts.

Who is your favorite famous artist and why?

For artistic influences, there are two painters I look to as teachers and mentors. Both in their own way, they approach their imagery with a singular, iconic vision. 

First, I look to my experience as an artist illustrator with Walt Disney Imagineering. From 1995 to 2000, every summer WDI would sponsor Imagineering artists and designers to attend weeklong painting workshops in Montana. Our teacher-mentor was a talented Disney artist and illustrator by the name of Tom Gilleon. Since his Disney days, Tom has developed a reputation for being the foremost Western artist in the genre of Western art and is known for his tepees and heads of Native Americans. Over the six-year run of the program, we became friends. Tom both taught and modeled the use of technology in composing and producing paintings and illustrations along with traditional media. 

The second painter who was influential to me, was Wayne Thiebaud, a California painter. Thiebaud was a visiting artist at the University of Wisconsin during my graduate studies and allowed four interested students to watch him paint in his U of W studio. I was one of the four students. His process, palette and materials have stayed with me through my progression as a painter. He is incorrectly known as a pop artist, and he prefers to be identified as a contemporary still-life painter, although he went on to paint figures and landscapes. Thiebaud passed away several years ago at the age of 101.

As for historical figures, I can find inspiration and influence from Sorolla, Sargent, the French Impressionists and Warhol. There are many others as well.

In what notable places has your artwork been displayed?

The Salmagundi Club, New York, New York; The Howland Cultural Center, Beacon, New York; Visual Arts Center, Punta Gorda; SoBo Art Gallery, Winter Garden; and The Healthy West Orange Arts and Heritage Center at the Town of Oakland.

Do you have accolades and awards?

I won the Curator’s Award at SoBo Gallery in the Top Choice Annual Exhibition in 2023; third place in the 13th Biennial National Exhibition at the Visual Arts Center in Punta Gorda in 2022; and the Blick Art Materials Award in the 93rd Grand National Exhibition in New York in 2021.

My work appears in multiple publications: “A Portrait of Walt Disney World: 50 years of the Most Magical Place on Earth”; “Imagineering, A Behind the Dreams Look at Making MORE Magic Real”; “The Art of Walt Disney World”; and The Imagineering Workout, Exercises to Shape Your Creative Muscles.”