Joe Mullins

Currently, I live in the lower Hudson River Valley.  My work includes portraits, cityscapes and landscapes.  I work primarily in watercolor, oil pastels, and pen and ink.  Most of my pastels are studio paintings; the watercolors, pen and inks are primarily done on-site.  While most of my work is of the Hudson River Valley, Eastern Long Island, and New England, the particular place, mountain or ridgeline is really secondary.  Rather, the focus is on mood, time of day, season, atmosphere, after a rain or just before a storm. I have exhibited throughout the Hudson River Valley and New England including The Coop (Peekskill, NY), Croton-on-Hudson Free Library, Flat Iron Gallery (Peekskill, NY), Garrison Art Center, John C. Hart Memorial Library (Shrub Oaks, NY), Hooper House (Nyack, NY), Lyme New Hampshire Public Library, Norwich Vermont Art Center, the Raptor Center (Woodstock, Vermont), Peekskill Coffeehouse, Rutheny’s Art Gallery (Croton-on-Hudson, NY), and Gravity Gallery (Norwalk, CT).  I am a member of the Croton Council of the Arts, the Art Students League of New York and the Garrison Art Center. I have taught painting and life drawing at the Croton-on-Hudson Continuing Education Program, the Croton Cortlandt Center for the Arts and to private individuals. I have created a dual program that brings science and current sustainable environmental issues into an art workshop.  I am a Teaching Artist with Arts Westchester.  

I studied at the Art Students League of New York.

Gyotaku is a method of printing developed by Japanese fishermen in the mid 1800s to record their catch.  "Gyo" in Japanese means “fish,” and "taku" means “rubbing.”  This method of print making allows for excellent educational workshops at both the elementary and high school levels, and allows me to discuss both sustainability issues as well as instructing students on print making.  I discuss the types of fish that can be found in local waters, whether it be the Hudson River, the Long Island Sound, or more local rivers and lakes, how our wild fish stocks are an important part of our heritage, and how we need 
to maintain our local waters so that the fish survive as a food source for both us and other species. At the elementary school level, I concentrate on the basic anatomy of the fish, how the shape of fins and tail, the size of the fish, the position and size of the eyes all impact on the fish’s fate - as a predator or food for other fish.  In the middle school and high school levels, I discuss how the environmental health of our local waters impacts fish survival, and in turn, how that impacts other species such as eagles.  I also discuss how the environmental movement, especially in the Hudson River valley, has shown that we can reverse the damage we have done and allow species to recover.  The science aspect of these programs is complimented with hands-on fish printing instruction.  The images made by the students are very powerful and exciting. In addition, I conduct workshops that focus entirely on the art of fish rubbing.  In these programs, the focus is on how the fish rubbing can
 be used in various artistic disciplines from printmaking to textile design.  More exotic fish may be used in these workshops. In addition to the fish rubbing educational workshop, I have a flora rubbing session.  In this workshop, I introduce the art of fern rubbing which is done in the same fashion as the fish rubbing.  I talk about how this process was used in the Middle Ages by scientists and botanists to record local flora for future generations. I design and provide custom handouts for each workshop that dovetails with the current curriculum at the school being serviced. In addition to being a Teaching Artist at Weschester Arts, I bring workshops to schools, public and private organizations throughout the tri-state area including zoos, art galleries, art fairs, field days, corporations, private parties.  I also provide individual instruction in drawing and painting. Here is a partial list of organizations and schools I have worked with: Carrie E Tompkins Elementary, Croton on Hudson NY Cedar Ln Elementary, Yonkers NY Croton - Harmon High School Edgemont Elementary, Scarsdale NY Fonda Elementary, Fonda NY Graham Elementary, Mount Vernon NY Grimes Elementary, Mount Vernon NY King St Elementary, Port Chester NY Longfellow Elementary, Mount Vernon NY Roywaton Elementary, Rowayton CT Sacred Heart, Greenwich CT Saint Marks, Yonkers NY Trinity Elementary, New Rochelle NY Williams Elementary, Mount Vernon NY Arts Bash, Arts Westchester, NY Arts Family Day, Mount Vernon NY Clearwater Sloop Fund Raising East End Seaport Museum, Greenport NY Hudson River Museum, Yonkers NY Staten Island Zoo