Joe Watkins has taken the art of feather painting to a higher level with his talent for design and painting as well as his unique mat cutting and sense of presentation.
Using wildlife and Native American imagery, he attempts to convey a sense of majesty and power in each individual subject. While primarily interested in creating artwork that appeals to the public, he also works to preserve a sense of what was or is rapidly disappearing. Read more about Joe and his art below.
Grizzly Bears
10" x 15"
Acrylic on Feather
$185.00
Red Fox
12" x 8"
Acrylic on Feather
$100.00
Yellowstone Winter
10" x 15"
Acrylic on Feather
$185.00
Canadian Geese
8" x 12"
Acrylic on Feather
$100.00
Golden Eagle
16" x 8"
Acrylic on Feather
$175.00
Bald Eagle
8" x 12"
Acrylic on Feather
$100.00
Up from the Head Waters
10" x 15"
Acrylic on Feather
$185.00
Gray Wolf
12" x 8"
Acrylic on Feather
$100.00
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More about the Artist
Joe studied art with various local teachers in his home town in central Utah while growing up and became a draftsman before joining the U. S. Air Force in the late 1960’s. Once in the military, his artistic talent became apparent and he worked as an illustrator/artist for 21 years until retiring in 1989. During that time, he studied painting and sculpture with several well-known German artists. Being an illustrator contributed to his emphasis on design and presentation in his current works. After employment in a Salt lake City ad agency, he decided to follow his dream and has been a full time artist for the past 10 years.
His artwork is in collections throughout the world. Among the owners of his work are Sir harry Tuzo, former Aide De Camp to Queen Elizabeth, Mr. Gregory “pappy” Boington, Mr. Stansfield Turner and Former Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig. His works are regularly purchased by the Rocky Mountain Elk foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, and the Rocky Mountain Mule Deer Foundation. A number of galleries in the western U.S. purchase his artwork.
Joe and his wife currently reside in a small community in the mountains of northern Utah.
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About the Art
The creative proccess starts with a pencil sketch of the general design and shape. For large works a mylar template is made from sketches, one for the form of the feathers and one for the subject. The templates are used as stencils to determine placement of the subject on the feathers. After selecting the feathers and glueing them in place, they are sprayed with an acrylic sealer to preserve and stabilize them. The spray also creates a surface that holds the acrylic paint. Once the template is used for placement, the images can be rendered. He then hand cuts a mat design to fit each individual work and creates a “shadow box” effect using foam core to separate the face piece from the basic mat.
