Born in Walnut Creek, California, Josef spent most of his childhood with his three older brothers in the Sierra Gold Country of California. Although he was raised in a family that had a strong appreciation for the arts, Josef did not pursue art until his fourth year in college when a professor, after seeing a few drawings Josef had submitted for a non-major art class, encouraged him to change his major from business to graphic design. Josef took the professor’s advice and graduated the following year with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communicative Arts and promptly entered the school’s Master of Arts program where he studied fine art under internationally recognized fine artist, illustrator, and portrait artist Brian Jekel. Realizing, however, that the program’s second year was focused primarily on illustration and graphic design, Josef left after completing the first year and returned to his home town to pursue life as a fine artist.

Having little money in college, Josef started out selling class projects to friends for enough money (usually thirty or forty dollars) to purchase supplies with for his next project. This led him to focus his attention primarily on portraiture, which he could sell more easily to his sitters than landscapes or still lifes. Because of this development of a love for painting his friends in college, Josef now spends most of his time painting portraits and figure studies of his close friends and family members. He also enjoys painting en plein air the beautiful California landscape surrounding his home town and constructing still lifes of the things he comes across in his daily life.

Most recently, Josef was chosen by Southwest Art Magazine as one of their featured “21 Under 31”, an annual spread which recognizes the most talented fine artists of the current young generation. Josef is also a member of the Oil Painters of America.