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Joaquin Allen

Using found objects, a variety of paint types from acrylic to sprays, handmade stencils, razor blades and steel wool as
brushes….These are a few of the tools that Austin madman Joaquin Allen employs to create his lively images on glass.  
Although it sounds as if all you could put together with those items was a muddy mess, Joaquin manages to create
unique and vibrant artworks that radiate a lively presence.  Musicians, voluptuous women or diffident nymphs, heavy
metal imagery of a raging world; these are just some of the themes you will find in Joaquin’s prolific collection.  And how
did he get this way you might ask as you examine his work, a head injury, long years confined in a mental ward, various
psychotropic drugs? No the answer is simpler and yet more complicated than those unhealthy influences.
What does it take to create a creator?  Is it the result of struggle and pain, a sometimes tormented and uncertain
upbringing, a lack of approval blended with plenty of criticism, or the heartbreaking loss of a parent?  There are so many
contributors to the creative soul that stem from unfortunate or even catastrophic experiences.  But just as often there is
redemption and hope brought on by moments and people that shine a light into the gloom and encourage us to lift
ourselves out of the darkness.  So it went with Joaquin Allen, growing up in a less than stable environment where early
in life he experienced heartbreak and uncertainty that would send many adults spiraling into a lifetime of sorrow.  
Trekking around the country in an old school bus, Joaquin’s parents launched him into a world of counter culture
tragedy.  His father died from a drug overdose before Joaquin was even school age, his step father was a drug dealer
and an alcoholic who had his own demons to battle and was unequipped to deal with all that it takes to raise a child.
However, as Dickensian as this seems, there were other members of his immediate family who were to bring new and
positive influences into his life.          
Joaquin and his Mother hitchhiked across the US shortly after his Father’s death to spend time with her family; a
grandfather who was a sculptor, and uncles who also were artists. Trips to museums, galleries and artist’s studios
sparked his imagination, and playing with paints and paper became a conduit for his creative side. When seven years
old, Joaquin was able to spend a summer in France visiting his grandfather in whose Paris studio he began to occupy
himself by painting and being schooled in the ways of the artistic life.  Formal art schooling and all that it involves did not
appeal to Joaquin, who freely admits he went to school to “party and chase girls”.  So upon graduation, he joined the
United States Marine Corps…not exactly a gateway to the life of a free spirited artist.  But being in the corps does put you
out there on the edge and added yet another layer to Joaquin’s inspired imagination.
After leaving the Marines, Joaquin ended up in Austin, Texas anxious to party and begin his new life.  Things started to
get even more interesting for him when he donated a kidney to his younger brother and the long healing process left him
with time on his hands.  He used this “downtime” wisely, and began to paint recalling the early times he spent dripping
paint onto paper as a child. The current paper supply was soon exhausted, and with no funds to buy either paper or
canvas, Joaquin improvised by selecting a glass door from a broken stereo unit he found I the trash. He quickly
discovered that glass does not easily absorb paint and the painting of a woman’s head that he had rendered in black
and white acrylics more closely resembled a gray swamp creature than a female, so he left the mess to dry and
abandoned the project. The next day, when he went to pitch the glass into the trash once more, he found that the
rendering of the woman’s head had come out perfectly on the other side of the glass hidden beneath the gray chaos.  
This began his quest to experiment with glass art, trying different paints and unusual techniques to achieve the images
he wanted.  Experimenting with spray paints, and using Sharpies as his charcoal, Joaquin found what graffiti artists
have long realized; that spray paint sticks to just about anything, thus making it possible for him to blend his two skills
as artist and mad scientist and pursue his creative ideals.
Along the way, Joaquin was influenced, and continues to be so, by two extraordinary contemporary artists who work with
glass in unusual and distinctive ways: Dave Archer and Xia Xiaowan.  Dave Archer uses Tesla coil to paint glass, a
dangerous and edgy process which naturally appeals to Joaquin.  And Chinese artist, Xia Xiaowan, creates fantastic
images using multiple sheets of glass.  You can also see the influences of graffiti artists, comic illustrators and the
bold, clean colors of cartoonists in Joaquin’s work.  But whatever the influences are, his work is wonderfully atypical of
traditional glass art work.
However unique and off the wall his work may be, an artist still needs a place to exhibit the works he has created.   How
about dressing room walls at rock concerts?  That came about with the offer of some tickets to see an Aerosmith
concert.  Instead of being just another face in the crowd of admirers, he was offered a job working the show.  And so
began a paid career as a stage hound, climbing sets and hanging riggings in the circus world of rock and roll.  Working
with such hot groups as the Rolling Stones, his work with concerts morphed to the job of production runner, whose
chores, among others, was to set up dressing rooms in advance of the concerts.  I’m sure there are some nuggets of
musician’s quirky requests in that assignment, but clever Joaquin also used the dressing room walls to display his
artwork. His idiosyncratic style appealed to the idiosyncratic musicians and fit the bill perfectly.  Working in the concert
industry left him plenty of free time to craft his artwork, and his art was creating buzz.  Tom Petty, who along with his wife
is an avid art collector, inquired about buying one of Joaquin’s paintings while backstage at a concert in Texas.  Interest
such as this made him realize that his art was worth pursuing and did have appeal.  This insight led Joaquin to begin
displaying his art in more settings, such as local restaurants, bars and clubs.  In these venues, Joaquin received
feedback from the patrons, and also allowed him to be in the party settings he craves.  One of the goals he has involves
creating art that is affordable for the everyday working person, as Joaquin puts it “I want to make collectors out of non-
collectors”.  Sure, he wants to be a big success one day, selling his work for mega bucks, but for right now, he is content
to have the freedom to work on what he wants, and the independence to experiment with new methods and styles.

By Leslie Gibbs
Artist Statement

Art is a very important part of my life.  Through drawing and painting I am able to share my passions, emotions, and imagination with others. In reverse painting
on glass I find a balance between chaos and order; not being able to control some paints on glass and having to plan many steps ahead of myself to create an
image.  I enjoy taking a piece of glass that is obscure and temporary, that has out lived its usefulness and transforming it into a thing of timeless beauty to be
enjoyed and stir emotions for generations.  Through experimentation and discovery I have created many techniques.  It is my goal to teach others what I have
learned; to see what amazing images other artists can create.  I believe that reverse painting on glass should be explored more often by artists.
Glass as a medium is very exciting and liberating to me, I feel the possibilities are endless.  Due to the unique properties of glass I can use paints such as
acrylic and spray paint in unconventional ways in which they were never intended to be used to create amazing textures and incredible shadows with multiple
layers.  I rarely ever use a brush, instead I use found items as stencils, razor blades and steel wool to remove paint and create negative space.  Using these
items in combination with water, alcohol and fire I am able to manipulate the paints.  I gravitate to paints and colors that tend to change with the lighting and
environment where the paintings are displayed, such as fluorescences, metallics, and glow in the dark.  I often take into consideration back lighting, shadows,
and types of lighting and am constantly experimenting.  It is my goal to stir people’s emotions and imagination. Similar to a cloud in the sky or an ink blot, I want
everyone to see something different every time they view one of my paintings. I find myself impressed with a piece of art that has me wondering “how did he do
that?”  I am constantly trying not only to solve that question but create images that invoke that question in a viewer.
It is my goal to display my paintings worldwide and be accepted by the mainstream art community.  In the meantime I enjoy providing affordable paintings to
people of all incomes.  I hope to make a collector of someone who otherwise would not think of themselves as an art collector.  I am on an artistic journey of
discovery and experimentation, constantly expanding my techniques and refining my images.
-Joaquin