artist
Joe Hatton

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Bio

I moved from Los Angeles to Tucson in the summer of 2005 to simplify my life and put myself into what I believe to be a more positive creative environment.  I’d been thinking about this move for some time and several visits before making my decision I reconnected with friends whom I’d met while completing my under graduate degree in painting at the University of Arizona.  Their consideration and positive affirmation helped me make my decision to move and their support made the transition a whole lot easier.

Having a history of making art in other places and suddenly, by choice, being in a new place with a newly acquired anonymity felt comfortable and right.  I have been fortunate to be able to paint almost everyday and with that freedom and time I have explored new ideas and themes which have interested me for years. It is my intention to continue on his path. With this new work and more to come I feel excited and believe it’s important to share these paintings with the community. 

Although my image changes at a whim the common thread of color and space and an intuitive feeling for balance with a quirky sense of humor weaves a connection through the paintings.

Artist Statement

I am a painter.  The importance of process and its relationship to image is foremost in my work.  My main goal is to get in touch with feelings, experiences and subjects, personalizing them into an image that feels right.  The image moves between representation and abstraction and usually finds its place in the middle. The formal elements of line, color, shape, texture and value are my tools. I continually replenish and nourish these feelings and experiences through drawing, which allows me to record, clarify and replace the old with the new.  Painting from the inside out, I intuitively arrange these feelings, experiences and subjects on the picture plane, exercising the paint into images that hopefully express that experience and have a unified formal structure. Recently my painting surface has become more expressionistic with layers of thick paint and vigorous, lively marks on top of intense, colorful transparent washes. When successful, the entire emotional and physical process of becoming an image is a shared event with the viewer.

See Résumé for more about Joe.

To make an art purchase, a gallery or studio appointment, or just to correspond with Joe, email joe@joehattonart.com