Joey Cruz Margarejo hails from humble beginnings as part of a typical family that called Manila their home. While growing up in the Philippines, Joey had little inclination to become an artist, in fact he knew little about the arts in general. In time however, he recognized that he had some raw talent, an artistic touch if you will. This surfaced around the age of 9 or 10 after his first glimpses of masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa, the works of Michelangelo and other European artists creations. Although he knew neither the names of the creators of these pieces nor what they were named, one thing was for certain; deep in his heart and soul, he loved looking at them!
Up to that point of his young life he had never even attempted to sketch anything; in fact, the only artistic thing he had created was in 5th grade. A Valentine’s Day card was the project his teacher had assigned the class but due to a lack of materials Joey went home, found a pink napkin, brought it to school and cut out a few heart-shaped pieces and presto! His teacher liked it so much she displayed it on the wall in the classroom. As humorous as that sounds, he found joy in creating something like that, no matter how simple it was in nature.
In time Joey graduated from secondary school and was off to college. It was there that he met an artist, a painter and from that point forward this was the beginning of a life-long friendship, an influential one at that! It was this friend along with his friend’s father that encouraged him to pick up a brush and express himself through color and canvas.
On the Road
Joey’s first painting sold at his first group show and it was then he knew he had to continue developing his talents and nurturing his new-found passion.
1997 saw Joey move to Montreal, Canada. The infamous ice storm of 1998 happened to be during one of his shows and as could be expected the show was a bit of a bust as a result. He hadn’t sold a thing until the last night of the show when someone bought a few of his pieces. This gave him the confidence to continue and after a few more shows throughout Montreal, Joey sold more of his work which fuelled his desire to soldier on in his creative evolution.
In time, Joey moved west to Edmonton, Alberta. He continued to feature his work in art shows throughout western Canada and one such show proved to be very successful for him. This was a show hosted in Vancouver, British Columbia, and it was the success of this show that opened many doors of opportunity for him.
Joey’s artwork is predominantly abstract in acrylics. His core values as an artist revolve around his belief that as an artist we all need to be FREE!
Only 2 Brushes
Joey is anything but stingy when it comes to his materials and paints. He does however only use 2 brushes and always has. These have become to Joey his ‘trusted companions’ as they have never let him down! Quite simply, Joey loves old brushes.
True to His Roots
Joey’s humility goes back to his modest roots; one of 11 children to a stay-at-home mother and a military father living an uncomplicated, somewhat ordinary life in the Philippines. It’s little wonder, then, that Joey is open to criticism of his work, constructive or otherwise. His take on that is “I do it my way so why bother getting upset over criticism, in fact I love it because it means someone has taken the time to take a deep look at my work, analyzing it and have come to some sort of conclusion or been prompted to ask questions and probe further.”
It is Joey’s heartfelt wish that you will do the same.
