Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Lowery.
Hi Joseph, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I learned to draw by watching the first TV art instructor, Jon Gnagy, in the 1950’s. I drew practically every day during my childhood. I wanted to be a professional artist. I only took one freehand drawing class in college. Instead of a fine arts degree, I got physics and electrical engineering degrees. Instead of creating works of fine art, I designed control systems. After retiring, my wife and I moved from CT to SC in 2012 to be close to our grandchildren. In 2013, my granddaughter and I attended weekly colored pencil drawing classes in Greer for over a year. In 2017, I started joined a painting class. I started exhibiting my drawings and paintings in Greenville Galleries that same year. In 2021, my wife and I felt that Fountain Inn, where we were living, and local artists needed an art gallery. We could find adequate space on Main Street, so we rented the rear half of a building on Main Street. For an obvious reason, we name the gallery The Back Door Gallery. The gallery opened on 12/13/2021. It took about 6 months to get enough artists to fill our walls with a wide variety of art; we currently have 18 artists and a few hundred pieces. In 2022, we started offering weekly evening painting classes. The gallery has a Kid’s Wall. Children can exhibit their art for free for at least a month or as long as space is available. Exhibitors rent wall space by the month. I mean the gallery Tuesday through Saturday, 11 AM to 6 PM. Every second Saturday, we have an artist meet and greet with refreshments from 1-4 PM. Working with artists and art lovers has been very satisfying operating the gallery.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I chose the back half of 107’ South Main Street, the lawyer in the front half planned to move to a new office building within a year, allowing the gallery to expand into the front. We would face Main Street; the law office has not moved due to increased construction costs resulting from the pandemic, and the gallery is struggling to be noticed.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I use a variety of mediums – oil, acrylic, watercolor, graphite and colored pencils, and pastel pencils. My work is detailed, and my subjects range from still life to landscapes to architecture to portraits. I do some art on commission, which are primarily portraits. The detail in my works is what I’m known for.
Can you talk to us about the role of luck?
Luck, fate, or the influence of another person is always a factor. I didn’t go to college until I was 25. I had been in the military for 4 years and worked in engineering for a large material handling systems company when my former wife decided I would go to college. I didn’t think I was up to it. But she knew otherwise. Without her encouragement, I would never have had a successful and rewarding engineering career.
Pricing:
- Painting class costs $120 for five 2-hour sessions ($24 per session).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://backdoorartgallery.com/
- Instagram: Instagram.com/back_door_gallery
- Facebook: Facebook.com/backdoorartgallery/
