When Joe fell into painting and loved it like music, it was inevitable that he would document his friends, colleagues, neighbours and others. For years, he painted portraits of Torontonians known and unknown, including: Robert Fulford, Robert Priest, Irshad Manji, Margaret Atwood, Bernie Finkelstein, Stan the Fan and Babydoll Grandma.
Over thirty years later, his portraits of Torontonians amount to a significant body of work, and here in Joe’s Toronto, he exhibits fifty portraits from the experience. It tells both his story and the story of those he portrayed. Along with faithful reproductions of the original paintings, Joe has added his own brand of comments about the subjects and the sessions.
Available for purchase through Cedar Canoe Books in Huntsville, Ontario, ECW Press and through Karen Robinson Gallery.
Published by ECW Press, October 2005, 102 pages, 6.25″ x 9.25″, 50 full-colour reproductions. ISBN 1-55022-715-7