Watercolor Artist – October 2019

ArtistsNetwork.com 27

Meet the Artist

Joel Popadics (watercolorpop.com) was born in

New Jersey and studied illustration at the School

of Visual Arts, in New York. He subsequently

worked for three years as an assistant to the

renowned illustrator James McMullan. After

working as an illustrator for some years, Popadics

ventured into fi ne art. His work has been shown in

museums, galleries and group exhibitions across

the U.S., and his paintings are represented in many

public and private collections. He’s the recipient of

numerous national awards, including the Edgar A.

Whitney Memorial Award from the Hudson Valley

Art Association; the Grumbacher Gold Medal from

the California Watercolor Association; and the

Silver Medal of Honor (twice) from the New Jersey

Watercolor Society. He currently serves as vice president of the American

Watercolor Society and is a past president of the New Jersey Watercolor

Society. An avid teacher, the artist leads workshops across the country and

teaches a weekly class at the Ridgewood Art Institute, in Ridgewood, N.J.

is to pursue and capture beauty in
our work,” he says. “Collectors and
art appreciators have told me how
peaceful my paintings make them
feel, and I take that as the greatest
compliment. I want viewers to have
an emotional reaction to my work.
I want them to feel as though they’ve
experienced a similar eff ect or to
recall a particular moment in time.”
In Popadics’ paintings, the artist
and viewer combine forces to share
powerful and positive feelings about
times, places and the joys of being in
the world. WA

John A. Parks is a painter, a writer and
a member of the faculty of the School
of Visual Arts in New York.

KATE FAUST