Joe C. Helms

   I'm interested in  life's little dramas. Using allegory and symbolism there evolves a  suspension of disbelief. Drawing the viewer in and along a storyline. Tapping into the collective unconscious so the viewer forms their own personal narrative from  the piece. I strive for a contrast between a calm and unease with a pensive quality. Feeling or capturing the instance. 

   Born in 1967 outside of D.C. in Prince George County, Maryland. Early life consisted of living in various places from the South Pacific to the West Coast before the family returned to the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. While in high school he began taking courses at the Maryland College of Art and Design, participated in the Maryland Gifted and Talented Program and received the National Academy Achievement Award for Art. In 1990 he graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore with a BFA majoring in painting and sculpture. Soon after graduating Joe began working as a freelance mural artist which span over a time period of twenty years. Commissioned by museums, hospitals, restaurants, commercial developers, architects, designers and private patrons. During this time he has been feature in magazine and new paper articles as well as doing radio and TV interviews. In 1999, he fell under the spell of a Baltic snow princess and was bless by her hand in marriage in 2000. After a stent in the Midwest and three sons later he now resides and works in the warm breath of the Palmetto State.  

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