Joseph Mendez ::

I've  had the privilege of studying landscape painting with Joseph Mendez, former student of Sergei Bongart, in Southern California, locally and in Spain from 2000-2003.

In April 2003, I coordinated a workshop that brought together my two most influential teachers to date, Camille Przewodek and Joseph Mendez. They taught collaboratively for the first time in an intensive two-week plein-air painting workshop in Spain.

Born in Galicia, Spain, Joseph Mendez relates the story of his family's migration, a modern-day diaspora that led to one-way journeys across the borders of four nations. "The Spanish Civil War sent my family to Cuba," says Joseph in an interview with Art of the West magazine. Then we left at the beginning of the Castro regime." This was a severe disruption, indeed. By the time Batista was finally dislodged from Cuba in January 1959, Joseph had already graduated from the University of Havana, had begun the Famous Artists course and was working for the local office of an American advertising agency. After a brief acquaintance with the new regime, however, it was time to move on again. A short stay in Peru followed, and then in 1962 he finally arrived in the United States. He was fortunate to be able to continue working as an artist in his new homeland, first for the Thrifty Drug Store chain and then for toy maker Mattel Inc.


In the early 1970’s and for ten years thereafter, Joseph used his free time to take classes from the renowned teacher, Ukrainian-born colorist Sergei Bongart. "He was a magnificent teacher and a tough disciplinarian," the artist recalls. Ultimately teaching was a calling that Joseph would pursue, as well. Upon retirement in 1987 after 15 years at Mattel, Joseph was teaching two painting classes in Los Angeles. He was also exhibiting in galleries and it was this aspect of his emerging fine arts career that ultimately captured his full attention. Joseph’s subsequent years as an artist were filled with impressive exhibitions and awards.

A habitual traveler, Joseph does 90 percent of his work on location. "In commercial art, I was trained to work from photos, but in Sergei's classes we did everything from life," Joseph comments. "I use photos to pick up detail; they're too cold and the values are off. When a photograph is the basis for painting, you have all the time in the world to sit back with a JB on the rocks and look at the photo. You sit there thinking, ‘well, I can add this little thing here or there, or what about this?' You don't improve your craft with photos. When you paint from life, you don't have the time to get pretty or cutey-pie. The light is changing too fast and you must get the
essentials down just as fast. About 95 percent of the time, I get good results."

Education: University of Havana, B.A. Advertising Art, Havana, Cuba, 1957; Famous Artists School, Westport, CT, 1959; Sergei Bongart School of Art, Santa Monica, CA, 1972-82 (Scholarship Recipient).

Awards: Jospeh Mendez is a multiple award winner at the Oil Painters of America, Salmagundi Club, American Artist Professional League and more. He is also a signature member of the Oil Painters of America, the California Art Club, the Plein Air Painters of America and North West Rendezvous.

Statement: "My paintings are based on direct visual perception and emotion. I try not to reason while painting. Sergei told us, as he told all of his students, that he wasn't teaching how to paint but how to see. If you don't see, you have passion and therefore, you're painting out of your brain instead of out of your emotions. If you first learn to see, then you'll develop a connection with your subject and then, if you want, you can change the colors and values. You must first know the truth to change it."