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Artist Joe Doolan’s works can be found all over the world...and maybe right next door.
 Joe Doolan brings a cornucopia of passion, experience and skills to his craft. Labeling Joe as an artist is technically accurate but hardly captures the scope of his unique talents. With a BA in graphic design, Joe’s art combines computer and design skills with more traditional artistic expertise developed through years of hands on work and study in Europe and on our west coast. A Savannah native, Joe has been working in the Lowcountry since 1979 and has certainly made his mark here and around the world with works displayed widely in hotels, residences, restaurants, galleries and anywhere art can be found from San Francisco to Australia, one of Joe’s favorite locations.
It is not easy to describe a unique craft, but many would start by putting Joe in the renowned group of Trompe L’Oeil artists. A French phrase, “Trompe L’Oeil” literally means “to fool the eye.” With an art form often referred to as faux finishing, simply put, the artist takes a certain space or object and with various medium, design and technique, transforms that space into something it’s not.
 Joe has impressed many with his work with boutique hotels on the west coast. Looking for a different image, developers wanted to create particular atmospheres that captivated guests and made them feel as if they were entering a different time and place, Sorrento, Italy, perhaps, over 400 years ago. Employing old world finishes from centuries past, Joe converted seemingly bland space into other worldly environments. Conversely, Joe may be asked to convert a characterless space into an ultramodern setting.
25 years pursuing his passion has paid off for Joe who now gets requests from a variety of builders and homeowners, and his vast murals have become his trademark. His largest, which spans 160 feet across, graces a wall in Chicago where Joe employed all of his artistic and design skills and used old photographs to create a collage depicting Chicago at the time of its World’s Fair. Designed on his computer, the mural has leapt to the canvas and into the hearts of Chicagoans. On the west coast, the library in the well known Grace Cathedral in San Francisco is adorned with Joe’s fresco wall decorations of Latin phrases.
 In the Lowcountry, Joe’s work frequently depicts the beauty of our environment. A Rose Dhu model home’s dining room hosts a spectacular mural with a Lowcountry scene of such depth that viewers often feel themselves standing beside the fishermen throwing their nets into the May River. The next time you’re in CQ’s Restaurant in Harbour Town pay a visit to the Cotton Room on the lower floor, which displays a mesmerizing mural by Joe of a Sea Island cotton plantation. And Joe’s paintings can be seen in galleries throughout our area.
But don’t just look to walls, for you may just see Joe’s work in your neighbor’s kitchen where meticulously hand painted cabinets gently pull you into an 18th century French village. Whether it’s furniture, cabinets, paintings or murals, Joe’s work will challenge your discerning eye and make you ponder life from a different perspective or transport you to another age or another place. And that’s just what Joe would like, to take us away, just for a moment, from our daily routines to appreciate the rich history we all enjoy.
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