Joseph Miller

from Journal of Creative Arts & Minds, Vol.6, No.1 - Summer 2020

Ian Schmude

Jospeh Miller

What is your professional name?

My professional name is Joseph Miller. I am named after Joseph who, in the biblical story, was given the coat of many colors.

Where were you born and does that place still influence you?

I was born in Augusta, Georgia, but I grew up in Aiken, South Carolina for sixteen years. My family lived in a rural area, with not a lot to do. I do not think growing up there has influenced my art much, if at all.

Where do you live now and how does that place influence you?

I live in Clarkton, North Carolina going on 10 years now. Clarkton seems to be even more rural than Aiken. So no, neither of my upbringing locations influence my art.

Do you have family, friends, or fellow artists who support you in your work, life and art making and how do they make a difference in your life?

Yes, I am lucky enough to have a strong family that supports my career decision and has encouraged me while growing up. Even though we are a family who lives far apart, it is always great to get opinions from them. I think that the word “friend” means encouragement, loving and there for you, so anyone I consider a friend has those qualities and boosts me every day in all things that I do. I would not have anything if I did not have my family.

When and how did you start making art?

I think when I first started thinking about becoming an artist was in elementary school. I had a fantastic art teacher from 1st through 5 th grade who opened up different techniques to me.

Can you describe the time when you first realized that creating was something you absolutely had to do?

Well being an only child definitely encouraged my creative side. I had a lot of free time as a child and I would entertain myself by creating different things when mom and dad were working. So, creativity is not anything new to me.

Why do you make art now?

I think I make art now because I know there is a career in it. I know I can make a living out of it. It is also the career path I have chosen, so I want to be good at it.

How has your work changed or developed over time?

I do not know if my work has changed much over time because I only really started taking it seriously when I started college. That being said, now I am trying to dig deeper into myself to find more personal aspects to improve the depth of my work.

What are you trying to communicate with your art?

With many of my works, I think they have been much inspired from previous old masters such as Monet, Turner, and Constable. Apart from being a pretty scene, I think my work is still in the works in terms of communicating a message.

Do you have any creative patterns, routines or rituals associated with your art making?

I think to a certain degree I do. When starting a painting I will usually gesso the canvas or use acrylic as a base. Once that dries then I will break out the charcoal or marker and sketch out a rough outline of my subject. I then start adding paint until I am partially satisfied. I have never been fully satisfied.

What is your most important artist tool(s) and why?

I would have to say my brushes. Without them I would have a hard time applying paint in the manner I like.

How do you know when a work is finished?

Usually whenever I get tired of working on a piece and it has all the components I had originally intended to put there.

What new creative medium would you love to pursue?

3D printing or 3D designing would be an interesting new medium for me. I have taken many sculpture classes and enjoy them very much, but they have mainly used steel, so coming up with a 3D concept on the computer would be challenge.

What’s the first artwork you ever sold?

The first pieces of art I ever sold were a series of handmade comic books. I sold them to a friend for .50 cents a piece in elementary school.

Do you make a living from your art? Not yet, but I hope to in the near future.

Category #5: Questions about the future. What are your goals for the future, for both work and life?

After I graduate this spring semester, I plan to either get a job in an art museum, or continue schooling and earn my Master of Fine Arts degree.

What interesting project are you working on at the moment?

I am currently working on multiple projects at the moment. One is a painting that has undergone many coverups and restarts. The other is a cardboard project for my sculpture class. It will be a quarantine hazmat helmet.

Do you have a favorite – or influential – living artist?

Neo Rauch is a living German artist that I have become intrigued with in the past few years. He crates large paintings of bizarre dream-like scenes. He usually uses figures from 16th through 19th century settings. I think his work is great because he has found a unique style and made more than enough money off of it.

What work of art do you wish you owned and why?

I would love to own any work by J.W.M Turner. His watercolor landscapes are otherworldly. He can express so much feeling through his color and brush work.

Where do you find ideas for your creative work?

I usually get my ideas from other artists works; I just change them up. Recently I have gotten ideas from movies and tv shows to add in my work.

What is the best advice you ever had about how to be more creative?

I once got advice about being more creative, which was to visit museums and look at as much art as possible. It sounded like great advice at the time, but after years of pondering on it I have to strongly disagree with it. Of course, visiting museums and galleries are great to see actual works from famous artists, but I do not believe one should get their inspiration from them. I have been a victim of doing this with most of my work. If you see a painting, you like and say I like

that, then make a work that resembles theirs, then you are not being original. I struggle to find originality within my own work. It is something I strive to accomplish as I continue as an artist.