Joe Bright was born and raised in Hawaii and graduated from Iolani School. He then studied painting and calligraphy in New York at The Cooper Union. He worked as a freelance calligrapher and illustrator while also teaching calligraphy alongside his mentor Don Kunz. After returning home to Hawaii he has taught various calligraphy classes at Windward Community College and The Honolulu Museum of Art School. He has had various works exhibited in such venues as The Painting Center in New York, The Honolulu Museum of Art, and The Bishop Museum.

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            Painting represents Joe’s primary mode of artistic expression and finds inspiration from the works of artists such as Matisse, Gorky, George Inness, as well as from the eclectic walls of graffiti in New York or ancient cave and rock paintings in Europe and Australia.