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INSIGHTFUL, BEAUTIFUL and POIGNANT words on ME AND MY STORY by writer Norwood Walker

This is a great short read by this very talented writer who writes very clearly about who I am and what I am up to. Norwood and I met several times in my studio to discuss my work and he did some research on his own to write this article on me that will be published this month, I am very pleased with how Norwood in words has written and explained who I am as an artist. It's a great introduction with words to who I am, what I am working on and what I am hoping to achieve. So please give it a read if you think you are interested and let me know what you think. Have a WONDERFUL DAY!!!! YOURS TRUELY!!!!! XXXXJOEL (ps because of the copyright status portions of the article have been removed)

Early before 7 a.m. on a dark and rainy morning when the rest of the neighborhood is dark, a light burns in the studio of the artist. He is up and ready to engage in his art just like he has for the past 30 years. An art that has taken him to the high- end art worlds of New York and Los Angeles with representation by larger galleries and with stops along the way across Europe. A history of the progression of his art adorns the wall of his residence/studio showing his movement in media, texture, theme, and size. But now he is moving in a new direction in this quiet residential area in the South. Now he wants to bring quality art to more people and make it accessible to all and share what he has to say with all.

Joel Bergquist has been a professional artist for 30 years now, and just this last year has made a huge transition from commission work that he was doing all over the country. His focus as an artist now is to work full time in his Durham Studio and paint affordable works for a larger audience of people. He has a wide selection of works he is showing now, with periods from different stages of his art career. He has a wide range of works varying in size from small to very large in a variety of mediums, styles, and prices. The transition has not been easy but he has been at it a year now and still doing much commission work for it still pays most of his bills.

Joel grew up in Chapel Hill and left there to study at the Rhode Island School of Design. This is one of the most preeminent art and design schools. After graduation, he went to New York where he was a member of the high -end art world there. Ten years later he moved to Los Angeles and the art world there. Tiring of the pressures of feeling he was not able to do what he wanted as an artist, he left and returned to North Carolina. Never having the option of not supporting himself as an artist, Joel turned to commission work and found it a way to pay the bills. He focused on the commissions for a while and stopped creating bodies of works and exhibiting in galleries.

But now, while he feels all his work has been good, as he says in his own words: I think it is strange, it is only now that I feel like I am on to something really big and relevant. It has taken 50 years, but the present really is so different and much more exciting. PAINTING is not something I produce, it's something that produces a change in me and my audience. The paint captures what the human eye leaves behind. I consider myself nothing less than a chronicler of the human condition, for LOVE. Ever-advancing my skills and perspective, I'm only as good as my last painting, and I see what other painters won’t and capture what others can’t.”

Joel ‘s excitement about this new direction in his art is very evident in conversations with him. He values greatly the sense of community this new direction is bringing him. He very much values the personal connection between the artist and the painting and the audience. He feels that what makes an artist great is what he does for humanity. To him this seems to mean on an individual basis by putting good work in the hands of those who really appreciate it and love it. He has aspirations of someday returning to the high-end art world and delivering this message there. Now he is using Facebook and Instagram as means to getting his art to a larger audience. One who may not ever visit a gallery in the Triangle let alone New York or Los Angeles, but nevertheless can appreciate the art and now own it.

He plans to work on new bodies of work and begin to exhibit again on a limited basis. In the meantime he will continue to use the internet tools of Instagram and Facebook to stay in the public eye and to begin sparking conversations and inspire the imagination of collectors old and new with a vision that cannot be taught, and must be personally experienced.

Joel is realizing what he has dreamed of for so long. Art that is really meaningful and has a value much beyond the monetary value it may command, and being able to do this with the artist in complete control. He is definitely an artist and painter of great distinction and recognition who now has a new and clear mission. He wants to bring the realization of the immensity and power of art and the way it has of showing the world to as many individuals as possible to enrich their lives. His love and care is as evident in his smile and eyes as it is in his paintings. A great artist yes, a great person, yes indeed, one who is Harnessing creativity and perfecting the craft with practical experience.

Experience his work on Facebook, Instagram, or at www.joelbergquist.com. Or better yet set up an appointment and visit him in his studio in Durham. You might just find something for your walls and heart or for those of a friend