Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Rackley.
Hi Joseph, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m a tattoo artist actually, and I mainly work in Athens, Georgia, but I’m also a fine artist who has worked out of the Atlanta Artists’ Center. I travel frequently to Charlotte, NC, and Seattle, WA, as well as other places. I tattoo as well as paint and have fine art training. I moved to Georgia for the tattooing job back at the beginning of 2021. That year was the beginning of my fully professional art career. I went from framing art at a Michael’s in Charlotte, to part-time artist, to full-time in a few years’ time, and now I’m considering going to Florence next to study further.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not! All things had a purpose, but few of them happened entirely on purpose, especially in the beginning. I got introduced to tattooing on a whim, and before that, I saw no real way to practice art as a living and be able to make a decent salary. I don’t have a typical art education. I have actively had to seek out good mentors, rather than get an education from a place like SCAD. The North Carolina Academy of Art was and is a huge influence on my trajectory. I have other mentors, one in NYC, some in Georgia, and some elsewhere. I have had to learn about the necessity of good boundaries and strong relationships in order to continue as a creative. A series of accidents, false starts, failed experiments, flukes and some deliberate decisions that ended in success are what paved my way.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I tattoo primarily, mostly color realism. I tattoo the way I paint, and therefore my tattoos look like paintings. My art is a fine art realism style, and I have works in watercolor, oil, pencil and charcoal. I am proud of my ability and want to explore ways to use it to communicate certain things to the world. I have an especial fondness for the human figure.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Atlanta is like Charlotte, but with a bigger downtown, and a richer art history. I like the lively, energetic nature of the city, as it is what I always like about cities. The traffic is terrible, and it’s not a great place to find solitude, but it certainly is a place to find a good story. Cities are full of romance if you know where to look, and how to see.
Contact Info:
- Website: Painandwonder.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/emblemjoe
- Facebook: Facebook.com/emblemjoe
