Raised on a dairy farm in Montrose, Pennsylvania. His parents sold their farm in the '60 where Joe's teens were spent living closer to the Philadelphia area. He attended various high schools in the surrounding counties of Philadelphia and even received a scholarship to Saturday art classes at Philadelphia Museum College of Art from his high school. After high school graduation in 1966 he attended Bucks County Technical School for commercial art and then was drafted 1968 into the United States Army where he became a drill instructor at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Part of his army tour of duty required training at the Arctic Test Center in Fort Greely, Alaska with winter training at 40 below zero minimum temperature in the frozen forests. After an honorable discharge as a sergeant he went to Philadelphia College of Art at night on the GI bill from 1970 through 1973 and during this period became an Art Director of a packaging printing company. Also in 1973 he went into his own business of advertising and packaging and relocated his business to Phoenix, Arizona in 1974. There he continued his commercial art business and began a fine art endeavor into western art oil painting. In 1977 and 1978 he took evening classes at Glendale College and also received 6 credits in theater arts and acting courses. In 1979 he relocated to Sun Valley, California near Los Angeles and continued an art business but became interested in an exotic animal rescue facility for a few years before getting more interested in the motion picture business and its various facets. The middle 1980 were spent working in the movie business in various capacities from production assistant to the transportation of picture vehicles, all the while working at his fine art interest in western oil painting an bronze sculpture and still keeping an eye on the acting profession and participating in acting classes. A speaking part on General Hospital resulted in 1981 and a few others in various productions but finding acting work was difficult in the competitive market and resulted in a relocation to Taos, New Mexico to put together a bronze foundry and pursue an outlet for his fine art craving to produce cowboy theme oil paintings, prints and bronze sculpture. The fine art, bronze sculpture and limited edition prints became fairly successful and is still sold on his web site of Joe Dawson Cowboy Art at www.cowboyart.net. During this period in the first half of the 1990s, addition college credits were attained at Northern New Mexico University. Some work was still found in various motion pictures and television productions in Santa Fe, NM such as the Lazarus Man movie and television series. Acting classes were attended in Taos at the Sherry Jackson actor's workshop and during this time he made trips to Los Angeles for auditions which became very expensive to continue resulting in renting out his property in New Mexico and relocating for a while to Los Angeles in 1997. Presently Joseph Dawson continues his fine art commissioned oil paintings in Taos, New Mexico and works toward acting opportunities where ever and when ever possible through the Mannequin Talent Agency in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Show less «