Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Hood.
Hi Joseph, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have always had an interest in art, from drawing to painting. I had a great interest in drawing when I was a kid. In high school, I started learning how to paint (primarily in acrylics) and realized how much I enjoyed it. Landscapes are what I started out painting, specifically scenes of local farms and beaches.
After a while, I started having people I knew ask for a commission piece from me. The thought of people wanting a personalized painting of my work was very fulfilling as well as the process of working on a painting.
Seeing a blank canvas and witnessing the whole process from start to finish is very satisfying. You have an idea of how you want the painting to look, but you never know how it is going to exactly look until the end. You always are able to tweak and change while in the process of a piece.
I, later on, starting working on more loose, abstracted acrylic pieces with palette knives. My paintings that were created with palette knives showed a lot more character and a ton of texture.
One of my most popular pieces, to this day, are my rooster paintings. They are fun, whimsical, abstracted paintings that are full of color and layers of textures.
For the past year and a half, I have had the privilege of being able to ship some of my pieces to a variety of galleries, such as Art House Charlotte in Charlotte, NC and Meredith Christenberry Collection in Columbia, SC.
I currently have an art studio in my home where I am able to create all of my pieces.
Besides selling a few of my pieces through galleries, I also have an Etsy Shop (Joseph Hood Art Shop) as well as posting new available pieces on my Facebook and Instagram page (Joseph Hood Art).
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When painting anything in general, a challenge would be what you want the composition to be before you even start painting. After you have an idea and start painting, everything then starts to flow smoothly and works out. That’s the fun in painting. You never know how it’s truly going to turn out until the finished product.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
All of my paintings are acrylic pieces that are created on gallery-wrapped canvases. The scenes of my work primarily depict scenes of North Carolina, from farms, farm animals, beaches, seascapes, and mountains. I try to put as much color as vividness in each of my pieces.
You can say I have two different painting styles in my work. Some of my paintings have a folk type, traditional, painterly appearance. Others are more loose and abstracted and show off lots a texture and color.
My most popular pieces are my rooster paintings. They are abstracted, whimsical rooster pieces that are created all with palette knives. I sell these one of a kind paintings in all sizes and each rooster piece in its own unique character.
My goal is to have all my paintings have a connection for someone – whether if it’s a local NC landscape or a more abstracted piece. I want people to be able to hang my work in their homes and be able to cherish it for a long time and even have them tell others about my work.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I think taking a risk – not just in painting, but in any field – is always a great quality to have. I do not know if I am known for always having that quality to where that defines me, but I have taken new ideas in my work throughout my years in painting. Each time I take on a new idea in my work, it betters my overall style as well as my knowledge in what I do.
Contact Info:
- Email: josephhoodart@gmail.com
- Website: https://jdhood9368.wixsite.com/josephhoodart
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josephhoodart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/josephhoodart
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JosephHoodArtShop
