84/150: Joe Coffey’s Theatrical Animal Paintings

Joe Coffey (b: 1966) is a contemporary Canadian painter best known for his highly realistic yet theatrical paintings of animals.

“Rather than depicting wildlife in a purely naturalistic way, he uses animals as expressive characters that explore human emotion, personality, and storytelling,” says Mayberry Fine Art, which represents him.

Coffey’s background in theatre imbues his work with a sense of drama and enables striking compositions. “I have a theatre background,” he says, “in fact as a young man I believed I would become an actor, and so drama still informs my work.”

Coffey works in oils, graphite, and mixed media. Widely acclaimed for his graphic skills, he has won awards for his art, and has been featured in multiple group exhibitions and solo shows.

Born on a farm in Caledon, Ontario, Coffey now lives and works in Victoria, B.C.

Coffey exhibits with galleries in San Francisco, Toronto, Victoria, and Winnipeg. His works, including commissions, are in private collections across Canada, the USA, England, France and Switzerland . Joe presently lives and works in Victoria, B.C.

Joe Coffey’s website

At Mayberry Fine Art

An extensive magazine profile (YAM)

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This is No. 84 in 150 Artists, an ongoing series on Canadian artists you should know.