Joe Cmeyla started painting when he was fifteen years old. He is a self -taught artist. In the beginning he painted from his imagination and later from real life using photos for detail. Joe liked to paint wildlife and landscapes of the area in and around Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

Joe’s studio allowed him to come and go around the clock. His time was divided between raising a family, taking care of a home and garden, and painting. Although he is no longer painting, Joe thoroughly enjoyed the many years working in his well-equipped studio. He drew inspiration from his extensive library as well as from artists Norman Rockwell, the Wyeth family and his friend, Harold Hansen. Joe preferred to use three hundred pound watercolor paper and Windsor Newton paints and to construct his own frames. When he disbanded his studio, Joe donated his complete library to the West Bend Art Museum, now the Museum of Wisconsin Art. The equipment from his studio was given to the Schauer Art and Activities Center in Hartford, Wisconsin.

Joe did some workshop teaching for Paul Yank and the Wisconsin Fine Arts Association, as well as tutoring in his own studio. He worked for five years with a quadriplegic mouth painter. She became a member of the Foot and Mouth painters International. Joe considered this to be an experience of a lifetime.

A member of the Wauwatosa Watercolor Workshop, Joe painted in groups under the guidance of a watercolorist he greatly admired, Al Mueh. He was also a member of the Wisconsin Watercolor Society.

Information from the artist, May 13, 2013