Joseph P. Baxter

A note from the artist:

“This library incorporates a colorful nighttime cityscape, above which can be seen superheroes flying around. The superheroes are children who use their powers to empower others to read. Knowledge is power, and so the superheroes' role is to inspire and encourage children to develop a love of reading in order to become superheroes themselves. To possess these powers requires one to have knowledge, knowledge which can only be achieved through reading.”

Artist bio:

Joseph P. Baxter was born in San Jose, CA, a diverse city in the heart of the Bay Area in 1993. Like any other child, he grew up playing sports and loved to explore the environment in which he lived. Frequent bike rides to the creek down the street implanted a sense of natural beauty that surrounded him. Along the way, Joseph found a continued attraction to the arts in a variety of forms, including music and painting.

His first artistic love was playing instruments, mainly drums and piano, and later began to write his own music. However, the unending pull of the art of oil painting eventually won, and he now spends his time pushing his artistic and creative boundaries as far as they will go. His first inspiration in the realm of painting came from the first time he learned of Salvador Dali, amazed at how someone could create such beauty from one mind. Another of his inspirations, one in which you can see reflected in his style, is the late and great Bob Ross, with his vibrant and colorful representations of the nature around us.

As a self-taught artist, Joseph uses these inspirations to remind him that the process of progress takes time and diligence, but is always worth the journey. His style consists of bright, contrasting colors, frequently using pallet knife techniques to represent natural and manmade environments all around us.

"I choose to do what others wonder how" - Joseph P. Baxter