Short History: 

I was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia in 1959, lived in England for a few years, and moved to the United States in 1970.  I graduated from St. Charles Prep High School in Columbus, OH, in 1978, was a monk for a short time in St. Leo Abby, St. Leo, FL, worked in the Floral and Special Event décor industry for about twenty-seven years, most of them owning my own business in Chicago, IL.   I moved to Indiana in 1999 and lived there until 2007 when I moved to Salmon, ID.  I moved to Smithtown, NY in October of 2007 to start and establish an art career. However, New York just is not the American West and is not the source of inspiration for me. I needed to head back out west to God's Cowboy country. I got a job at Historic Pines Ranch just outside of Westcliffe, CO., and then went to Kay El Bar Ranch in Wickenburg for the winter.

I stopped sketching at the end of my senior year in High School (1978) because, I wasn't all that good.  I applied to art college but was denied. It never crossed my mind that I could ever have an art career. I focused on applying my talents in the floral and special event industries. 

Starting with 2000 there were a few personally hard years dealing with cancer myself, a death of a dear friend whom I had cared for the last nine years of her life, and working as a Private Care CNA for Hospice care patients, I found myself wanting to do something totally different.  In the summer of 2006, I went out West to Idaho and spent the time in Salmon, Idaho.  I have always wanted to be a cowboy even as a kid in England. I have found that I can express it through sketches.  In Idaho I was exposed to a lifestyle that is honest hard work without much pretense. Being a cowboy may not be an option for me now, but would have suited me as a young man for sure.  To say, I was inspired by the young men and their talents with horses and the knowledge of the wildlife and mountains would be putting it very lightly.  I learned that first summer how much I didn't know and how much I wanted to know. 

In November of 2006, after I returned to Indiana, I was bored so I picked up a pencil and a sketch pad. I thought I would try to sketch a few of the wranglers from out West.  I found out to my surprise, that I was actually was pretty good at sketching.  I continued to sketch as a hobby after going back to Salmon the next Spring.  I received wonderful compliments and was encouraged to sell prints.  People have liked them enough to buy over 125 signed limited-edition prints that summer. So far, there are seven prints for sale.  You can see them on the Page titled "Prints".  I spent that summer and into the fall roaming around Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, promoting and selling the artwork.

I am now represented by the Cody Art League in Cody, WY.  They are selling some of my originals.  I also have prints for sale throughout Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana.  I have been a member of Cody Art League, in Cody, WY, since September, 2007.  I have now relocated in Colorado and Arizona.  The headquarters for my artwork remains in Indiana with my good friend and Business Partner Dylan Ellis.

Lastly, I am thankful to Dylan, Dusty, Hoss, JD, Jared, Chaseon, and the other cowboys that have allowed me to sketch them doing their thing.  I am especially grateful to Dylan Ellis who is my frame maker.  He does a wonderful job and I highly recommend him for custom frames.  He is a young man that I got to know the second summer on a ranch in Idaho. I quickly came to respect and think a lot of him. I am honored to call him a friend too.

I am now dubbed "The Wandering Western Artist."  That is because I have come out west and don't have a home out here.  I am working on ranches and seeing where this takes me in my pursuit of my art career.  I am learning what it is to be a rancher and an artist.  My current plans are to work the summer in Westcliffe, Colorado.  I am not sure what the winter will bring or where I will be yet. Where I go from here is anyone's guess.

Thank you kindly for your time coming to the website and viewing a sample of what inspires me, and is my passion.

Joseph Fawcett – Artist