Joseph Velazquez 1942-2021 Biography scroll down to view works

Joe Velazquez 1942-2021  His professional artist career spans more than 50 years. He began his journey as a creative thinker very early in life growing up in Westminster, CO. While his father was away from home during World War II, his mother would treat him with crayons and paper when she returned from her shopping trips. His penchant for art was reinforced throughout his high school years as he was sought after by acquaintances to create drawings of family members, sweethearts or movie heroes. Velazquez earned money for college by designing ads for local merchants and creating architectural delineations for local builders. These endeavors would play a significant role in his future as a professional fine artist.

After attending Colorado State University in the early 1960's, Joe worked as an illustrator and designer for advertising design studios and ultimately opened his own advertising agency in Boulder, CO. In 1975, he made the transition into fine art pursuing his fascination for the history of the fur trade era. He is diligent with the historical accuracy of the accoutrements used in depicting the stories of this era while portraying the fortitude and tenacious spirits of the characters who traveled those trails.

Velazquez' creative passion is the exploration of the human spirit...whether it is a by-gone moment in history or a snippet from yesterday's fare. His personal challenge begins as he envisions the role light, shadow and shade will play in the accurate depiction of the scene emerging from his canvas.

Honors and Recognitions

2010 Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival featured artist

Bronze sculpture titled Arsata received first-place honors in the 1986 North American Sculpture Exhibition.

The painting The Big Hitch was selected for the cover of the 1984 US West Telephone Directory. 29 million copies were printed.

Works have been acquired by the following museums:

Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta Palm Springs Desert Museum, California Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, Vermont Leanin’ Tree Museum of Western Art, Boulder, Colorado Morris Museum, Augusta, Georgia

Works have been featured in the following books and publications: Western Art Collector, Art of the West, Southwest Art, The Story of Leanin’ Tree Art and Enterprise in the American West, Mountain Green the Beautiful, Chief Red Cloud, 1822-1909 Crazy Horse, 1842-1877 Sitting Bull, 1831-1890 2005 Artist’s Blue Book, Wilderness Way, Eagle’s Eye