Drawn to shorelines, beaches, lakes, oceans and streams, Joe uses water imagery to depict the dichotomy between movement and immobility. A detailed understanding of light’s ability to create colour, shadow and tone is utilized to set mood in each painting. Whether the focus is cold, warm, tranquil or angry, waters’ magnificence strikes the viewer and an emotional response is evoked. This is due, in part, to the large scale of the work.
Raised in Windsor, Sampson moved to Toronto in the early ’90s to study at the Ontario College of Art. Later, during what he now laughingly refers to as his “Lord of the Rings” days, his work as likely as not featured drag- ons and dwarfs. Gradually, he began painting landscapes, reproducing trees, snow and water until finally, there was just water. He painted his first signature waterscape in 2005. “Now it’s always water, water and its surroundings,” he says.
From a distance, the viewer is drawn towards what appears to be a photograph. Upon closer inspection, brushstrokes are revealed
and the observer is made aware of the meticulous layers of brushwork, resulting in the illusion that the viewer is still for an instant,
at the waters’ edge.
Education:
AOCAD - Joseph Sampson graduated from the Ontario College of Art in 1995. After OCA, he began freelancing as an illustrator while
continuing to paint. Painting quickly became his sole occupation.
Artist Statement:
"I want viewers to feel inside the scene itself, like they are riding the waves.”
Over the past several years, Sampson’s early passion for water has deepened. “I have always felt an attraction to water,” he says, loading his van before embarking on yet another weekend trip to Georgian Bay. “Perhaps because I spent my early childhood on the island of Malta. Now my work is all about water. I use oils to capture its texture and movement as it reflects light. I spend hours on or by water, experiencing its many moods.”
“Now it’s always water, water and its surroundings.”
Additional Information:
Joe’s portfolio is comprised of a variety of scenic imagery, and is currently focused on waterscapes. “Then I might have to Frankenstein a painting from a whole bunch of different photos taken at different times,” says Sampson. “But really, I always say Mother Nature has the best brush, so why mess with it?”
Creations Art Gallery & Framing Studio
436 Wilson St. E., Ancaster, ON., Canada L9G 2C3
Phone: 905 648-6199 www.Creations-Gallery.com
