Born to an Irish mother and a Canadian father, Joe Dawson is something of a nomad having never lived for more than three years in any one place. He nevertheless found the time to pick up a degree in Graphic Design at Concordia University, a compromise between the desires of protective and practical parents and his desire to live and die by the paint brush. Dawson next traveled to Italy and managed to convince the instructors at the Angel Academy (noted for training its artists using techniques introduced during the Italian Renaissance) of the merit of letting him sit quietly at the back of a few classes to see how things were done. Outside of the few generous hours afforded him by those sympathetic practitioners; Joe Dawson is a self taught artist.
Dawson has done a great deal of private commissions both here in Ireland and abroad. As well as exhibiting his work in Savona in the Italian Riviera, Dawson has exhibited in Montreal. Presently, he is represented by The Apollo Gallery in Dublin.
