Where did my art go this Summer?

Sea Lion 8x10  $175 framed

I got to go to Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Oregon this summer.

My artwork, on the other hand, got to go to the Hamptons,  Glen Neck, New York, Soho, Edinburgh, Scotland, Hollywood, Carpenteria and will soon be showing in Vancouver, Canada.  Must be nice!

Edinburgh, Scotland

the Hamptons

Video from Glen Neck, New York; I'm featured about 5 min in

Inspiration from the easel: Pirates!

Long John Silver 5 x7" $150

The movie, Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean, inspires me to paint characters from the movie. Also my favorite thing is collecting Playmobil pirate sets for making movies of my own.

This pirate is Long John Silver, inspired from the old Disney Treasure Island.  It's available for sale for $150 framed.  I have about 8 other pirates so come and get 'em, mates!

Or...you'll walk the plank!

Last Tuesday, Tobias and I went to the "Pirates' Dinner Adventure" in Buena Park, California. I had a meal of tossed salad, chicken with spanish rice and broccoli, and filling from apple cobbler.

I love New York, do you?

Statue of Liberty 8" x 24" $350

 I participated in Love Letters, a Broadway show by A. R. Gurney at the Normal Heights Community Center in San Diego last Saturday.  My work was exhibited in the lobby as people entered.  "The Statue of Liberty," "Brooklyn Bridge" and my new crab were on display. I also sold greeting cards, necklaces, photo clips.  The necklaces were the bestsellers and a few are still available for $10.

Brooklyn Bridge 24 x8" $350

Karen Searcy-Bair, Director of the Crimson Center, and her husband, Stephen Bair, invited me to do this since it was their two-person show.  The creative evening was a fundraiser for scholarships to their speech and language pathology center.

Necklace $10

Lucky winner received my new necklace

The Big Apple

Debbie Hosseini announced that she wants to include me in an art show in New York City!  The Soho Gallery of Digital Arts will highlight several artists from her book, Art of Autism opening July 7th.

The show benefits Reach for the Stars Learning Center which is "dedicated to the education of children with autism spectrum disorders utilizing every possible tool to further their development."

I think I will send them my "Big Apple," since that is the nickname for New York, and "Vanessa," because she was named after my music teacher.  She helped me play music on the guitar and piano.  We wrote songs together, one which I will post soon when I get it recorded.

Inspiration from the Easel: In Toto Color

I was inspired to paint Toto from The Wizard of Oz in many different colors. A play at the Mission Theater inspired me to do this.  It was for The Art of the Dog show at the Fallbrook Art Center in September of 2006.

This piece is still available for sale for $350 if you need a gift for a dog lover.

Fantastic Art Show in Hollywood

Last thursday, May 19, 2011, Joel met up with Kyle Negrete at Barnsdall Gallery Park in Hollywood and together they set up his art pieces, his easels, his table, and even his business cards.

Keri Bowers greeted them, and so did Dani Bowman, Scott Siegel from the Arrest My Sister band, Nick Guzman, Debbie Hosseini, and Joel's buddy, Al-Rilwan Adeyemi.

Joel gave his friends gifts like caricatures he made of his friends, including Keri Bowers.Joel was thrilled that he sold a few paintings, cards, and photo cubes with art in them. He worked at his art sale from 5 pm to 9:30 pm until he got really tired and started to pack up and ready to head for home.

Inspiration at the Easel: Concert of Prayer

I painted this girl praying for the posters and flyers for the very first Concert of Prayer in 2009. My teacher, fine artist Paul Ryker, helped me with many new techniques such as light to dark. Those techniques gave a whole new dimension to my work.  Sometimes I paint what I want. Other times I enjoy getting a specific assignment.  This one conveys what happens at the Concert of Prayer.  I sold prints of this piece at a Joni and Friends event so that a little boy with autism in China could afford to go to a special school.

My website is going live!

"Joel's Vision Arts" is a business I started eight years ago.  This business focusses on selling art and cards to customers in public and online, produce videos which feature past events from Autism Tree Project, and videos with animation.  My art shares my vision. Jesus Christ has blessed me with a love for art.  I want to use my skills to bring Him glory and to make people smile.  Hopefully, my art can be used to change the attitude of the world to love each other even if they are different from me and you.

My website for the business is new and improved with the help of Kelly Anderson who is a graphic artist and web designer. She won an award for my first web design and lives in Riverside.

Take a look at it here!  The store will be open in June and new things added each week.

Hooray for Hollywood!

Debra Hosseini and Keri Bowers are working together on an event in Hollywood, California. At Barnsdall Gallery Theater on May 19 at 6:00pm, they will launch a national art tour and release the book Artism, The Art of Autism.

I am featured in the book on page 54-56.  Many talented artists from around the world are also in the book, including Temple Grandin, Jason Cantu, and Donna Williams. It felt famous to be included!

Ask me anything

My interview with Tim from ANCA went well. I did very successfully with a speaker phone at my house. It lasted for an hour.  I practiced reading my answers I had written down. It really helped to have the questions in advance.

In case you missed the interview, here is my personal favorite:

You took up painting at age eleven.  How had your art progressed at that point?

I first used paints when I went to a local painting class for kids. The teacher’s only rule is to fill the whole canvas with paint. My big improvement was me painting a 30 in. x 40 in. painting of Mona Lisa, a classic painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. These inspirations from art history books including Van Gogh, Picasso, and Raphael inspires me to develop my talent to paint replicas of famous paintings.

This is my third painting ever which I painted in that kids class when I was 10 years old.  It's titled "The Big Apple."  It was inspired by the video Animated Hero Classics, Leonardo DaVinci.

On the Air!

I'm going to interview with the Blogtalkradio.com this Sunday.  The people from Naturally Autistic in Canada gave them my name.  Last October, they chose me as the winner of their inaugural International Award of Achievement for Adults with Autism in Community Service. I was nominated for my work with Autism Tree Project Foundation.  I felt blessed when they gave me the award.  Here is a video of my acceptance speech and a video I produced showing my achievement.  (Start the counter at 5:55.)

I met Tim at the awards ceremony in Vancouver at the the University of British Columbia.  He presented the ANCA award to me. He will host the radio show.

Click here to listen. Live at noon on Mother's Day!