The opening reception for Tucson artist Joe Hatton was held at Rancho Linda Vista on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019. It was a good crowd that showed up for the exhibit titled “Alignment and Aberrations: Paintings by Joe Hatton.”
Hatton is from Los Angeles originally. He got into art following the end of his service with the Marines in 1967. He attended college on the G.I. Bill and received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa. He said that artists from Rancho Linda Vista influenced his work and were helpful to him. He mentioned Bruce McGrew, James Davis and Charles Littler.
Joe taught art at Pima College from 2004 until 2017 as an adjunct staff member. He has a studio at the Citizen’s Warehouse, 44 W. 6th Street in Tucson. Joe said of his art that he used to paint natural representations but now his work is more abstract. In 2013, he lost his girlfriend to cancer and did not know how to grieve. He was overwhelmed and literally got tied up in knots which ended up with him having intestinal surgery. He now tries to paint his emotions and feelings from the inside out.
The show will be at Linda Vista until Sept. 26.