Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joseph Micacchione. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Joseph, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk I have taken thus far in life is/was definitely the decision to take my recent hobby turned passion full-time. During the pandemic I, like most of the world, was confined to my apartment for a long period of time. This forced me to focus my time and attention inwards. At the time I was working my corporate job in finance and prior to the pandemic I hadn’t realized just how unhappy I was with this career path. All that forced time alone quickly caught up to me…. I quickly slipped into a dark place mentally… I felt trapped… trapped in my job, trapped in my apartment… and with no outlet or positive thing to focus all this energy. I was living in Midtown Atlanta at the time, across the street from the Black art supply store… one afternoon when I had finally had enough, I walked across the street and something told me to buy a bunch of paint and some canvases and start painting. One thing led to another and I quickly fell in love with painting, creating new colorful things… but most of all I fell in love with learning new techniques, painting with new mediums, pushing my boundaries I previously set for myself and giving in to the paint…. the unpredictability of the blank surface…. it was everything I was missing from my 9-5 job in finance. In November of 2021, 3 short months after picking up a paintbrush for the first time, I created and launched my website and the following month decided to take my art business, my passion, full-time. This was the biggest risk I have ever taken… leaving the known and embarking on journey of the unknown. I cannot describe how truly daunting it feels knowing your own personal success or failure rests solely on your shoulders… trust me, there were many MANY sleepless nights. In the end however, I wouldn’t change one single choice I made… there is something so freeing and satisfying knowing that at the end of the day you have something to show for all the hard work and dedication you have put into following your dream.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

For all intense and purposes I fell into my career as an artist…. During the pandemic I discovered my passion for being a creative which quickly turned into my thirst for learning how to paint which quickly developed into my small business and a hard right turn in my career path. After exploring painting styles, techniques and mediums I fell in love with the world of abstract painting… with flairs of contemporary/modern influences. I started using traditional techniques when I first started painting…. paint brushes, acrylic paint, watercolors, etc. however, I now deploy the non-traditional techniques when I am creating now. Things like crushed quartz crystal, glue, butterfly wings, kitchen utensils and of course my hands. Now, you can find me painting out of a storage unit using any and everything I can get my hands on besides a paint brush. Now, every piece I create quick literally has my hands, sweat and yes even some tears all mixed in. I put all my heart and energy into creating each piece and if my clients/followers/fans take anything from the artwork I create I want it to be that I truly enjoyed creating it and I hope that shows in every piece I create.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

At first the goal for me was to learn something new, find a new way to express my creative side but now I believe that goal has evolved into something far more important. Every piece I create now has one goal in mind…. to leave something beautiful, colorful, meaningful behind…. something that will far outlive me. Behind every piece is the intent that I leave this Earth better than how I came into it.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is seeing what others think of my work. Not all the feedback is positive but it still gives me a little insight into their thought process, how they interpret my creation. For me it highlights just how uniquely different every person is, and while I have my own ideas/reasoning behind a piece I have created, it is so interesting to hear what other people believe the piece means/symbolizes to them.       

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jpmicacchione.com
• Instagram: j.micacchione

Image Credits
I took all the photos I uploaded and have all the rights to all of them.