Thursday, January 16, 2014

R.I.P. Joe Lester

It’s been a month now since artist & sculptor Joesph Lester passed away. While I met and hung out with Joe on a handful of occasions, I didn’t know him particularly well. But I did know that he was a shy and modest man, and an unbelievably talented artist. I first met Joe at a sculpting supply house in the Chicago suburbs in 1996 and when I first saw his work a few months later I was absolutely floored. At this time I had only been sculpting for a year or so, and I couldn’t even begin to fathom how Joe was able to capture so much life and expression into his characters.

While Joe left us far too soon, he did leave mask collectors with a small legacy of masks. Some of his very best are still available from Darkside Studios, including "Smilin’ Jack", "Harvester" and "Crackle"...

Joe Lester - "Smilin' Jack" Sculpture

Joe Lester - "Jangle" Sculpture

Joe Lester - "Harvester" Sculpture

Joe also created some crazy cool pumpkin caricatures, including his "Pumpkin Patch" series...





2 comments:

  1. So sorry to hear of his passing ...
    We had looked at his "pumpkin" designs before ( though never knew who was the artist).... band thank you again good Sir Phantom for you input on our "question"... a Great day to you

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  2. A great talent to the masks collecting world. Rest in peace Joe.

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