joe
kearby

text & photo:
glenn robinson

Say “hello” to Joe Kearby and the characters of his poloroid-esque painting essay, no not photo essay, but painting essay. These characters exude the dull drab of everyday life, but are contrasted with the unique thoughts that separate us as individuals. Thoughts that Joe and, I’m sure many of us, have had, that seem to be played out in succession on wood in latex.

Joe, a mild mannered financialist out of Southern California, stays sane through his works. As therapy, a journal, and eye candy, Joe has been making the gallery circuits, but maybe this is not what is destined. Maybe his art is destined for something along the lines of a Joe Kearby calendar, a la The Farside. Not to cheapen the art, but to give others hope that, day-to-day, they are not alone; that others

too are thinking what they are. Over/Under has sat down with Joe to discuss and inquire about, what else? Joe Kearby.

O/u: What made you want to pursue art in your life? Joe: It just kind of happened. I never really painted until my senior year of high school…and it just became an option. It became something that I like to do. It was a pretty easy

choice actually; it just kind of happened. I didn’t have to think about it. I’d always drawn, and once your skills start to develop the more fun you have making art and the easier it becomes. I’ve never lost my interest; it’s like the one thing I never lost any. So I figure if I haven’t lost my interest, it’s probably a good thing to keep doing. O/u: What is the biggest obstacle? Trying to get your art out, or

deciding whether or not you want to get it out?
Joe: That is probably the biggest obstacle right now. You don’t want this stuff just to sit in your house. You’re making it because you are trying to say something, so you want it to be on display; you want people to see it; you want people to like it. And then, you want to do art as a job. That would be the dream, but at the same time you can get so

distracted by that goal, trying to make this your job; trying to make a living out of it. Sometimes I have to take a step back and just tell myself to focus on making art instead of trying to become a famous artist, or trying to become some fucking gallery artist. Just making it on a daily basis, and not trying to make it something it’s not.

O/u: Describe your current works?

Joe: There is a lot of angst and frustration I’d say. When you look at them, they are all about being pissed off at being frustrated or they are exaggerations of daily problems. They are just cartoons. Cartoons are exaggerations of things. There is always something going on on a daily basis that can be exaggerated that makes you want to scream. I am not trying to reinvent cubism.

O/u: Would you like your art to be seen or would you just be happy doing it?
Joe: I would like to have some type of comic strip, or some type of venue or medium were I am able to create one work a day and display it on a daily basis. It’s probably going to be on a website.

Check out some of Joe's work at: www.jkearby.com