Some of Joe's earliest memories are camping trips to the Eastern High Sierras and taking walks with his father down the railroad tracks to the rabbit fields near his home. This was his wilderness as a child and he credits his father for his early introduction to nature and the outdoors.

Joe's first art instruction began early in school when he would receive instruction on how to draw shadows on simple shapes using only a pencil and paper. This really began Joe's enthusiasm for drawing. One summer while visiting an art fair in Mammoth Lakes California he came across some drawings by Helen Seal, a southern California artist. The beautiful simplicity of her High Sierra sketches made a lasting impression on the young artist. At that moment he says, "This was something I knew I wanted to do." His mother recognizing his obvious enthusiasm purchased one of her drawings, which still hangs in his studio.

Joe is equally accomplished in oil and pastel and he is best known for his dramatic lighting. He is greatly influenced by the changing of seasons and weather, and the more dramatic the weather, the more inspired he feels. "Light on the landscape and the different ways it plays with and reveals its forms and color is extremely seductive to me. Painting on location and in the studio is a way I can interact, participate and respond to the magnificence in nature." Joe celebrates the moods each season brings and he works on location often to accurately see and capture the changing light.

Joe holds signature membership with the Pastel Society of America, The Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters and The Pastel Society of the West Coast. His work has been published in the Pastel Journal's "The Years Best" in 2004 and 2005. His collectors include film producer Lawrence Kasden and actor Kevin Kneeland. His work has exhibited in the Napa Valley Art Museum and hangs in private collections throughout the United States.