Timothy Joe

The Representational Artist and Nature Journaling Birder

Portrait of Timothy Joe and his pastel painting of a Red-breasted Nuthatch in background.

Timothy Joe is a self-taught representational artist and painting instructor from Alabama’s Black Belt region. His rural roots are reflected in his art, as is his desire to preserve the landscape he grew up with. He specializes in painting onsite in the great outdoors, en plein air, and, beginning with the Hale County Black Belt Birding Tour in 2019—which happened on his family farm—has held live art demonstrations that have extended his passion for nature to others.

Portrait of Timothy Joe preparing to paint a Swallow-tailed Kite. Illustrated by Daniel J. Middleton.

Timothy Michael Joe was born in Greensboro, Alabama, on August 21, 1982. His parents are Cornelius and Leola Joe. Timothy grew up on a 200-acre farm in Newbern, Alabama, purchased by his family in the early 1900s. The farm is in Alabama’s Black Belt region, which originally referred to the rich, black topsoil found there and the enslaved black Americans who worked the fields when cotton agriculture dominated. With the spread of cotton-producing farms, the Black Belt region extended its reach, eventually encompassing lands in Georgia, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

Timothy became interested in art at age four. His mother brought home groceries in brown paper bags, which she left on the floor for Timothy to color using crayons. Timothy desired to paint after seeing Bob Ross on television. In an interview with artist and environmental educator Bethan Burton, Timothy spoke about the impact Bob Ross had on him:

It was just him saying, 'you can do this too,' and I believed him. He really took art, which was something on a high shelf that a lot of people couldn't reach, and put it down to a level for anybody who desired to paint or draw.”

Timothy’s love of nature also developed on the family farm, with its pristine pastures, deeply wooded areas, and streams and ponds teeming with abundant birdlife. He was also attracted to neighbors’ gardens and local settings with old, rustic structures, the latter of which figures prominently in his current portfolio.

Birders on the joe Farm at the 2021 Black Belt Birding Festival, adapted from a photo courtesy of Alabama Audubon/Matthew Grcic.

Timothy began painting various birds as part of his nature journaling using watercolor, gouache, oils, and pastels. While Timothy was harvesting on the family farm, Mississippi kites and swallow-tailed kites swooped down to catch dragonflies in midair during the hay season. That struck him. It wasn’t long before avid birders noted the timing and stopped by to catch sight of the kites from a distance. The Joe family realized an opportunity and opened the farm to bird tours run by Timothy’s younger brother Christopher. Timothy has since hosted a few himself, in addition to leading nature journaling workshops for Alabama Audubon.

For his piece Warm Welcome, Timothy was a Pastel Spotlight artist in the August/September 2021 issue of PleinAir magazine. He won an award in the first annual Mountain View Americana Art Competition held in South Carolina and gave a gouache painting demo during the 2021 International Nature Journal Week. Timothy and his brother Christopher appeared in Barriers to Bridges, a documentary presented by the Alabama Rivers Alliance film fellowship program Southern Exposure. The film, directed by Robin Bean Crane, was a 2021 EarthxFilm award winner.

• Where you can find Timothy Joe

  Website:
  Timothy Joe Fine Art

  Facebook: @timothy.joe.5

  Instagram: @timothymjoe21

  Pinterest: @timothymjoe

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This article appears in 12 Modern Black Birders.

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