About the artist

Joshua Stephen Cooper is a painter born and working in Jacksonville, Florida. Informed by the figure, his studio practice is heavily based in the diligent process of realism. His portraiture uses a form of realism, which relies on efficiency of technique and shorthand.

Cooper's paintings are inspired by the art of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most influential to him is John Singer Sargent. His work emulates Sargent's smoky atmospheres, seemingly spontaneous application of stroke, and limitless compositions.

As a student, Cooper attended the Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy, which teaches the traditional techniques of the old masters. Prior to this, Cooper graduated Cum Laude receiving his Bachelors of Fine Arts, and Minor in Art History from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. His work can be viewed in the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, Florida, where his 188 sq. ft. mural depicting the three Muses is on permanent display.