Michael Joseph seeks to convey serenity of meditation using free, naturalistic color and loose brushwork, with a characteristic sense of depth. He moves from plain air landscape to figure studies with ease, using light to reveal forms.

Joseph grew up in Palo Alto, California. In 1961, he attended the San Francisco Art Institute, studying painting with Joan Brown. In 1967, he graduated from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, where he won the Chi Omega Award Scholarship twice in 1965 and 1966.

From 1978 to 1985, he exhibited his work at the Festival of the Arts in Laguna Beach, California. In 1985, Joseph received the Mayors Purchase Award in Beverly Hills. From 1986 to 1997, he exhibited his work in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Today, he maintains studios in Gilroy and Palo Alto.

His works are held in collections of the Beverly Hills City Hall, the Taft Entertainment Company, The Fluor Corporation, The Bank of Newport,
and in many private collections in the United States and abroad.