Josh Beckett: Honest Intentions

In this newly commissioned mural and series of paintings, Beckett examines his personal struggles with emotional attachment and fulfillment. Beckett proposes that oftentimes our expectations around love are entangled with more superficial desires that are influenced by media and popular culture. He states, “We grow up listening to sad RnB [songs] and movies about missed connections…We come out the other end as hopeless romantics addicted to vice and over stimulation.”

Joshua Beckett is an illustrator from Baltimore, Maryland. Growing up he would bully adults in Tekken at the arcade and watch cartoons with his dad. Falling in love with the amazing and energetic visuals from action-oriented comics and visual media, Joshua set off on his own journey to master these skills and techniques. His quest began with rigorous self-study, learning to draw and ink on his own before testing his might in the arena. His next goal was to acquire scrolls of power, and so in 2015 he earned his first degree, an A.A. in paralegal studies from the Baltimore City Community College. While earning his degree Joshua began studying the ancient art of tattoo design and application. Now armed with a strong sense of drama, attention to detail, quality of line, storytelling and diverse legal understandings, Joshua moved on to earn his BFA in Illustration from the Montserrat College of Art, where he graduated in 2017.