Thale Sukpranee - งง 

Many artists will list other artists and even musicians as being sources of inspiration to them. For Joe, this is not the case.  His art comes from deep within, and is his main means of self-expression, though he also composes hauntingly soulful tunes on his steel tongue drum, gentle, calming notes that permeate to the corners of his garden studio each time he lifts his rubber mallets. Our communication was ably facilitated and assisted by Bow,, who speaks excellent English since I confess to zero ability with Thai. Joe was happy to answer any and all questions candidly, but it was immediately apparent he is naturally a man of few words.  He allows his actions and creations to speak for themselves, and they are much less shy than the man himself.

Joe was born 41 years ago in Bangkok, a son following an older sister.  Hua Hin is his mother’s home town, so he was acquainted with it from a young age, often visiting Hua Hin during holiday times.  Joe knows that the family of four frequently took trips outside Bangkok together, but couldn’t pinpoint any particularly memorable times from his early childhood, his experiences of his late teens completely over-shadowing the happy times he surely must have had, with such loving parents, in his years as a youngster. Joe’s mother worked as a hairdresser, though she is now retired, and his father was, and still is, a taxi driver in Bangkok.  It amazes Joe that his father can be so happy behind the steering wheel of a car for long stints of time.  Joe is constantly on the move, still only for minutes at a time.  While we chatted, Joe worked on a new creation, watered the garden, patted and fed the pair’s three pampered feline family members and played on his drum.  Bow informed me that the only place Joe regularly stays, awake, in one place for any length of time is when he is seated on his bicycle, riding around the streets of Hua Hin, always on the lookout for another spot to paint.

Joe’s creative genes come from his mother’s side of the family.  Both his mother and his aunt have artistic talent.  One family pursuit has been ice carving, and his aunt was one of the first batik makers in Hua Hin.  Joe’s maternal grandfather was employed as a gardener in the Palace for many years, engaged in creating topiary animals, so that was why Joe’s mother was born in the Palace grounds, an everlasting link to Hua Hin as her home town.

A “treasure hunt” for Joe’s creations in the streets of Hua Hin will quickly turn up many examples of his work. Joe estimates that there are over a thousand discrete pieces of his art displayed in public places in Hua Hin.  He has been creating here for many years now, and quite early on he was invited to a meeting with supportive municipal officials, where some ground-rules were established and a gentleman’s agreement reached. 99% of the time, wall owners and local residents are thrilled if Joe “installs” a piece of art in their area, often overnight, though there have been a few instances where they have been removed or painted over.  Bow helped Joe to set up his Instagram so that now all his works are recorded for posterity, guarded against removal, damage or fading in the bright tropical light.

Joe has been drawing for as long as he can remember and has over 30,000 drawings to prove it.  Drawing with black marker on plain paper is where it all started for Joe, because that was the cheapest way he had to create art.  He now has a masterful control of marker pens, having spent over 30 years learning to create accurate, fluid lines with them. Early on, he became fascinated with using his own skin, and that of his friends, as opportunities to create as well. While Joe was a polite and well-behaved student when he chose to attend school, it didn’t capture his interest.  Joe enjoyed learning English but not Maths, his favourite part of the day being lunchbreak where he could socialise with his friends. He admits to skipping school more often as he got older.  As a creative type, Joe found the restrictions of the Thai education system stifling, and so left regular school at the age of 15, after completing Junior High School.  Through study in Non-Formal Education, Joe was eventually able to graduate from Senior High School. Feeling a bit aimless, it seems that Joe fell in with a rough crowd and became involved in alcohol abuse.  At the tender age of 17, Joe took a taxi one night, drunk and lacking in sufficient cash, a decision which led to him facing some issues with the police. The taxi driver drove to the police station, claiming he was the victim of attempted robbery, a claim Joe strenuously denied to the police and eventually to the court.  Joe was acquitted of the charge, but spent over 12 months on remand as a result of the unfounded claim, derailing his life for a time. This was probably the origin of Joe’s strong desire for social justice.

Joe is a dutiful son and cites his mother as the living person he most admires.  He has always felt supported, in his life and in his art, by his mother.  Even in his darkest moments, she continued to love and support him, bringing him blank books that he could use to create his art.  Over the years, Joe’s designs have also become the basis of a large number of tattoos, for himself and others. From a young age Joe has collected a whole personal library of paper and books which are now full of his precious drawings. Joe even managed to turn driftwood from the beach into pieces of art. His mother had to sacrifice for the art materials she provided him, as she could not easily afford to purchase them.  Joe treasures that his mother will always support him, through thick and thin.

When he was 24 years old, Joe felt a strong desire for a fresh start, and made his way to Hua Hin, where he had always had positive feelings of welcome and belonging.  With no money, few qualifications and no job, Joe needed to find a place to establish himself.  The sea has long been a source of comfort for Joe, who describes swimming, which he does well, as “merging his energy with the ocean”. Joe even states he has a heart as big as the ocean. Unsurprisingly, it was to the beach, and its abundance of beach bars, that Joe looked for a place to set up his home.  Joe bartered his services, doing whatever the bar owner required, for regular meals and a place to sleep.  For five years, Joe lived on the beach, even spending some time living in a treehouse his employer constructed.  He worked long days at the beck and call of his employer and while a treehouse might seem like a novel and glamorous place to live, in reality the exposure to the elements, in Hua Hin’s tropical climate, is brutal. It was only at night time, after the bar closed, with the light from a candle or two in his room in the tree, that Joe was able to indulge his urge to draw.

When Joe had had enough of both the employment and the living conditions, he went in search of alternatives and remembered the house his aunt had lived in when he was a child.  Now abandoned, the house needed a lot of work to make it even minimally inhabitable. With little in financial resources, Joe had to use found materials and considerable sweat equity, and at the age of 29 finally got to paint the high wall he had always admired as a child. Joe is most grateful that his aunt has let him use her property as his home and studio for the last 13 years now.  Of course, were Joe to win the lottery, there is still more he could do to make the property even more comfortable, including replacing the roof.  But Joe is happy to live in the home he and Bow have jointly created for themselves, with its lush garden. Joe doesn’t have to worry about intruders, other than the creepy-crawly variety.  The entrance is hidden, via a lengthy, very narrow pathway between a building wall and Joe’s decorated concrete wall.  If you were claustrophobic, entry to the studio and entertaining space via the pathway might be problematic for you. Once Joe had his home in order, he was able to look outside. It was the start of his mission to make the many concrete surfaces of Hua Hin more beautiful and colourful. Why do electric poles need to be so grey and drab?

Joe seems to live firmly in the present, yet he is optimistic that the collective human spirit will see the world keep improving.  He has strong hopes that a greater focus on art within Thailand will improve happiness.  Joe uses his art to sow happiness wherever he goes. It is paradoxical that although he is an artist of 30 or so years standing, Joe still feels he is at the very beginning of his artistic achievement.  The best compliment he ever recalls receiving was the first time he was asked the question, “Are you the artist?”.  For a long time, this shy, humble man did not even allow himself the label of “artist”. Adding to the paradox is the fact that Joe doesn’t feel the need for a bucket list.  He is living his art every day, and feels complete in the present moment.  He has successfully reconciled with his parents after his rebellious years and now has solid relationships with them both. So, while Joe has no fear of leaving things undone, he certainly hopes to live a long, fulfilling life, through remaining fit and strong. As a teenager, Joe could not even imagine making it to the age of 40. Now Joe understands that if he has his health and his partner, he has everything. Joe and Bow have not completely ruled out parenthood somewhere in their future, however Joe is keenly aware of the level of responsibility and commitment that is required of a parent and at the present time he is still enjoying the freedom he values so highly.

There is not a materialistic bone in Joe’s body. While Joe spreads joy, he does it without desire for tangible reward.  He is not motivated by money, and even less by the idea of fame. Joe’s creativity flows directly, unchecked, from his soul. While he calls himself selfish, others would see a man of absolute focus and determination.  He has a message of happiness he sincerely wants to share with the entire world.  Joe also labels himself as very emotional.  He is sensitive to the needs of others and aware that life is not fair. Some of his artworks clearly have an element of social commentary, which is another reason the Banksy comparison has arisen. Joe values the fact that he can provide art for the enjoyment of people who otherwise may never be able to focus on more than their most pressing needs for food and shelter.  Joe wants his happy colours to seep into people’s heart and build joy. He and Bow went through a period during the Covid pandemic when feeding themselves on virtually zero income was very challenging, so Joe relates readily with people in hardship.

This sensitivity to the needs of others has been the main factor in Joe’s decision to step out of the shadows.  He was intrigued when approached by the management of Centara Grand Beach Resort and Villas to participate in a recent charity fund raising event.  Five canvases were set up in the garden on a sunny afternoon, and Joe flowed seemingly effortlessly between them, applying colour from spray cans and fine lines with his black markers.  The unique artworks he created on the canvases provided by Centara were augmented with 3 additional canvases Joe brought himself, without the prior knowledge of Centara staff.  Guests were fascinated to watch artworks spring to life in front of them, as layers of colour and intricate curved linework was painstakingly completed. At the end of the session, which lasted several hours, each of Joe’s creations was auctioned to the attendees, with 100% of the takings going to the Scholars of Sustenance Foundation (SOS Thailand), a charity food rescue organisation which has nationwide food equity as its key goal.

Joe is an enigmatic man.  He prides himself on being able to create art out of nothing.  Joe is best known in Hua Hin for his street art, which he initially painted using the traditional brush method for over 20 years. In the last few years, Joe has been able to afford better materials such as quality spray paint which allows him to work more quickly with a greater range of colours. Joe is also still using found items to produce sculptures. He can create monochromatic art, or utilise the rainbow as the mood takes him.  Every aspect of him is a work of art, Joe stating he “could make a melody out of his own farts” if he had to. Of course, art is subjective and interpreted in different ways by each individual.  But after chatting with Joe, his use of recurring motifs in his paintings becomes clearer. A heart often appears in his works, and these are symbolic of love of course, not romantic love, but the love of humanity for each other and the other living things on our planet.  The heart is human compassion and solidarity for Joe, and stands in stark contrast to argument and division.  Many of his works include graceful birds with intricate, curving plumage.  Joe’s works are definitely organic, with few straight lines in sight. For Joe, the bird, with its ability to soar above the earth, represents freedom, a feeling denied to Joe throughout his schooling and young adulthood.  And the eye?  In Western art and literature, the eyes have been referred to as the mirrors or even windows of the soul, though there is uncertainty of the origins of this expression.  Was it Shakespeare, Da Vinci or Cicero?  Who knows?  For Joe, the eye is about valuing people by really seeing them: their desires, hopes and needs, and so embracing them with love and gratitude.

Joe sees himself as a simple man, with easily met needs.  He likes to help people and shares what he has with the homeless and needy.  Things which are not fair, loneliness and human suffering all annoy him, while his home and family are his refuge.  Joe’s favourite food is anything cooked for him by his dear mum.  Only rarely does he feel guilty about anything, and that is only if he hasn’t been able to resist painting in a place he fears he should not have painted.  For a man who has been reclusive for so long, Joe is remarkably open and direct in conversation.  He welcomes visitors to his studio in the afternoon most days.  You can find him down the narrow lane next to HiSea Hua Hin Hotel, on Naebkehardt Road, only a few steps from the corner of Soi 55.  Just look out for his work on the footpath.