Joe, who was Instructed at a very young age by his mother and pastel portrait artist Jacquelyn Naimo, is celebrating his fortieth year as a portrait a ...more Joe, who was Instructed at a very young age by his mother and pastel portrait artist Jacquelyn Naimo, is celebrating his fortieth year as a portrait artist. Acquiring his first commission at age twelve, portraits became a means for providing and a venue to exercise his natural drawing skills. Coming from a family of artists, the third sibling to graduate from Kendall, Joe developed his own specialized niche as a graphic designer with the exceptional ability to learn and master design software applications. While highly regarded by his peers for his wide spectrum of skills, knowledge and talents, Joe's thirst for more seems unquenchable. Joe, lives in Grand Rapids, MI, is married with four children and two grandchildren. He prefers trail running over distance running with his dog Charlie, would love to be a kit drummer in a group, talks of traveling to Italy someday, and wishes he could improve on getting to bed at a decent time. "The ability to draw is my strength, and my medium of choice is colored pencils on colored paper. What I enjoy the most out of drawing portraits is the challenge to create more than an accurate likeness - I want the end subject to look alive - to capture the likeness and personality while looking illustrative and not photorealistic." hide