Today we’d like to introduce you to Joel Ross.
Hi Joel, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hi, I’m Joel Ross, though I create under the artist name Joel Bear. I’ve been working in the creative industry for the past 13 years, primarily in Los Angeles and Costa Mesa, California. Recently, my family and I opened a studio in Nashville, Tennessee, where we’re building the next chapter of our creative journey.
I got my start as an action sports photographer, documenting surfing, climbing, skateboarding, backpacking, and just about every adventure sport I could find throughout California and Colorado. My wife and I lived out of our Honda Element, pitching brands to let us photograph their products on surf trips, climbing expeditions, and road trips across the West. It was an incredible way to learn storytelling while living the lifestyle we loved.
Eventually, we moved to Los Angeles, where we worked as fashion photographers and film directors, developing our own artistic language and falling in love with the city’s creative energy. California has always been a huge source of inspiration for me—from the scorching deserts and the grit of Los Angeles to the coastline and endless open spaces. It feels like creativity and inspiration is around every corner.
Everything was going amazing and then COVID hit.We were on set when the city shut down, and like so many people, we suddenly had time to rethink everything. During that season, I decided to make a career shift. I taught myself music production and DJing through YouTube, started writing every day, and began pitching my work. Music had always been a huge part of my life—from playing drums in hardcore bands to creatively directing projects for musicians—so diving into production felt like a natural next step.
It’s been an incredible journey producing music, DJing, and building parties around it. I love the collaborative nature of music and the creative flow it creates. There’s something deeply spiritual about the process. Music has given me the opportunity to work with some of the world’s biggest brands while expanding my creative voice in entirely new ways.
Even while music became my profession, visual art never left me. I’ve always been drawn to painting, drawing, and making things with my hands. That passion has now become my newest obsession: fine art.
Growing up, my mom was a graphic designer, so creativity was simply part of everyday life. I was surrounded by drawing classes, design conversations, museum visits, and late nights making things at the kitchen table. Looking back, those experiences laid the foundation for everything I do today.
When my wife and I had our first son, it reignited something in me. It reminded me how much I loved creating simply for the joy of making. We built out a visual art studio, and it felt like the previous 13 years of photography, filmmaking, design, and music had all been leading me here.
Today, I spend my time in our Nashville studio drawing, painting, printmaking, designing cloths, and exploring new ideas. Every day feels like an opportunity to learn and create. I’d describe my work as California nostalgia—inspired by the landscapes, design, and culture that shaped me. I’m constantly pulling influences from artists like Ed Ruscha, designers Ray and Charles Eames, and the visual language of skateboarding, surfing, music, tattoos, and mid-century California design. Southern California has such a rich history of art, typography, architecture, and graphics, and that legacy continues to inspire everything I make today.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s honestly been a crazy journey of trying to figure out what the heck we’re doing. Being a freelancer is a constant balancing act—juggling pitching, producing, networking, learning, and building, all while never knowing where your next job is coming from. We’ve been incredibly broke. We’ve slept on friends’ floors, lived out of our cars, and wondered how we’d make it through the next month. But we’ve also had the opportunity to travel the world doing what we love and meeting people who inspire us every day. Looking back, I wouldn’t trade any of it. The hardest part is that freelancing can feel like it’s you versus the world. It can be incredibly lonely. When something goes wrong, there’s no one else to fix it—it’s up to you to figure it out or learn how. Living in that constant state of uncertainty is incredibly vulnerable, but it’s also where the most growth happens.
Over the years, we’ve taken on just about every kind of creative job imaginable just to keep the lights on. I used to think that meant I lacked direction, or that it was somehow a sign of weakness. Now, I see it as one of my greatest strengths.
Each of those jobs taught me something different. Photography led to filmmaking, filmmaking led to creative direction, creative direction led to music, and now all of those experiences feed into my work as a visual artist. I’ve built a deep and diverse creative toolbox that I can draw from every day.
It’s funny—when you’re living through it, you’re constantly asking yourself, What the heck are we doing? But when you look back, all of those unexpected detours start to make sense. They become the experiences that shape your perspective and your work. I’m genuinely grateful for every twist and turn. They’ve made life far more interesting, and I can’t imagine wanting to live it any other way.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
At this point in my journey, I consider myself a visual artist above all else. My work spans painting, drawing, furniture, sculpture, apparel, brand collaborations, and, ultimately, gallery exhibitions. I love working across different mediums because each one offers a new way to tell a story.
I would describe my style as California nostalgia—a reflection on what it felt like growing up in Southern California. My work draws heavily from surfing, music, tattoo culture, Los Angeles pop art, and mid-century design. Most pieces become a collage of graphics, typography, and illustration, layered together to capture the people, places, and visual language that continue to inspire me.
Lately, I’ve been fascinated by gas stations, roadside Americana, and vintage branding. I’m deeply inspired by the graphic language that emerged from California in the 1950s and ’60s. There’s something beautiful about the balance between blue-collar practicality and thoughtful, modern design. Signs, logos, typography, and advertisements from that era weren’t just functional—they had personality, optimism, and craftsmanship.
To me, California has always been a place built by pioneers, dreamers, and people chasing impossible ideas. That’s the spirit I’m trying to capture in my work. Each piece is my way of documenting the culture, optimism, and nostalgia of a place that has shaped so much of who I am
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Honestly, I don’t really believe in luck—I believe in providence. Surfing has taught me a lot over the years, but one lesson has stuck with me more than anything: you can’t catch waves standing on the beach. You’ll only ride the waves you paddle for, so paddle for as many as you can.
I’ve tried to apply that philosophy to every part of my life. Dive into the deep end. Take the risk. Shoot your shot. Most opportunities don’t just appear—you have to chase them. Hard work pays off, but rarely overnight. It takes time, persistence, and the willingness to keep showing up, even when you can’t see what’s ahead.
Looking back, every meaningful opportunity in my life has come from taking a chance before I felt completely ready. That’s how I’ve tried to live—with faith, curiosity, and honest hard work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joelbear.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joelbear/
Image Credits
Joel Bear
