A wife interviews her ARTIST husband

You have to stay true to who you are.

And follow your dreams and inner voice.

I met my good friend Priscilla when we played sisters in a movie years ago. After that she moved to Australia, and a couple of years later she came back married to Australian artist Josh. They moved to LA, started a family and set out to full fill their artistic endeavors. They act, write, parent and Josh (already acclaimed back home) paints! An artists path is not an easy path. But now everyone is snapping up his beautiful art, and lots of celebrities are hanging a Rosenthal painting on their walls. I was so thrilled to hear Sasha Baron Cohen “Borat” just bought one! How cool, I love Borat.

If you follow this blog you know I’m pretty obsessed with them. I have 8! in my house.

I thought it would be fun for Priscilla to interview Josh (And if you scroll down to the bottom you can see Priscilla’s funny new project!)

Priscilla:

How did you come to art?

Josh:

I started painting when I was 13. I remember being surprised by seeing a painting of my Dad’s in his dressing room. I never imagined he could do something like that but it was pretty tacky. Someone got me a canvas and some paints and the first thing I ever tried to do was to copy what he did – it was buildings reflecting on the water – but the paint was very thickly put on in these long slabs and I thought “I can do better.” Then I really got into art at Wesley College, the high school I went to, and I started devoting my painting, I think, when I broke up with my first ever girlfriend. I was totally crushed so all my emotion went into painting and I suddenly fell in love with it.

Poolside with Mark J

Priscilla:

Do you have a ritual that you go through each time you paint?

Josh:

The first thing is I make a cup of tea, a big cup of tea. Then I usually put my headphones on. Put some music on.

Priscilla:

What type of music?

Josh:

All kinds. Both kinds, Country and Western haha. No, I like to listen to music that sets a mood. Like… I used to listen to a lot of Tom Waits… classical, a lot of Bach, baroque, avant guard stuff, underground through to reggae.

I Remember Being her Age

Priscilla:

What was the first painting you ever sold?

Josh:

Uhhh, I think the first painting I ever sold was a triptych. It was of Sydney, the background of the sea and the ocean through a window and chair and big huge lamp shade. The perspective was intentionally off.

Priscilla:

Who did you sell it to?

Josh:

I sold it to someone in Melbourne, I was living in Sydney at the time.

Migrant Worker at Sea

Priscilla:

Do you remember how much you sold it for?

Josh:

I think 2,500 dollars

Priscilla:

That’s pretty good for your first one. So we know that you are an actor as well. Tell me a little bit about the differences between expressing yourself with acting as opposed to art.

Josh:

Well one is very solitary and the other one is completely interactive with people. So they’re actually quite different. One is narrative based and the other is communication based but they both feed into each other.