From strippers and porn stars to protesters, cosplayers, and super heroes in the making, Joe Granski’s work gives a peek into sub-cultures outside of the mainstream.

Joe Granski is a painter and illustrator who is local to the DC area. His portraits explore the way people use images to present themselves and how those images are, in turn received by others. He has recently displayed his work at DC’s Artomatic.

Dennis, Matt, and I have known Joe for many years and now, he sits with the crew of Unified Pop Theory, Red Bull in hand, ruminating about the creative paths he has taken and what calls “artistic causality”. We found him to be a walking contradiction. Congenial with a bit of arrogance. Opinionated and at the same, a creative recluse. Listen to the interview.

Joe talked about Daniel Huot, Scott Burdick, and the craft of painting, but he was a bit reticent to show any of his works in progress. However, he had posted a demonstration on painting nudes in the Old Master’s style and we found several of his painting studies.

Seeing a work as it is being created gives immense insight into the creative mind– from colors to composition. With a bit of prodding, there was a hint of a promise of doing a time lapse of Joe’s process.

To learn more about Joe’s work, visit his website at www.joegranski.com.