Joe Maracic
Joe Maracic is a New York artist who draws sports cartoons, does charcoal and pencil sketches, and paints oil paintings of athletes, portraits, and the Croatian coast. Online he sometimes goes by GrafixJoker.
He grew up near Shea Stadium. Later, near Nassau Coliseum. This is not a coincidence and it is not subtle. The Mets, Islanders, and Knicks get the most attention in his work, followed by whatever else in sports is currently worth drawing. He is also a 49ers fan, which he acknowledges is a logistical problem for a New Yorker but not one he loses sleep over. The Mets and Islanders handle the sleep deprivation.
How It Started
Joe started drawing at four. Garfield first, then other cartoons, then faces, then landscapes. He was an only child, which left a lot of time for drawing and, by his own account, a few imaginary friends. He carried a briefcase of art supplies to family events. This is either charming or alarming depending on who you ask.
His formal training started at the Roslyn School of Painting under Charles Pasqualina. From there, Parsons, then the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts, where he completed his studies in 1998. He has been teaching oil painting at the Roslyn School of Painting for over 25 years, which means he has now been teaching there longer than some of his students have been alive.
The Work
The sports cartoons are hand-drawn first, then rebuilt digitally in Adobe Illustrator. The sketches are in pencil, pen, charcoal, and marker. The oil paintings are oil on canvas, which has no undo button.
His influences include Pasqualina, Don Orehek, Claude Monet, Zvonimir Mihanović, Banksy, LeRoy Neiman, Chuck Close, Jim Davis, and Jhonen Vasquez. That range should tell you something about how he thinks about art.
His work has been exhibited at the Croatian Consulate in New York City. His cartoons have appeared on television, at major sporting events, and across social media, where the Mets fan base has proven to be a surprisingly enthusiastic audience for sports illustration.
On AI
He uses it the same way he uses a camera. As a reference, not a replacement. None of the artwork on this site is AI-generated. This is not a manifesto. It is just the actual answer to a question he gets asked.
Fine Print
Joe is a former hockey goalie. Between the puck to the head and the paint fumes, the artistic career path made perfect sense.
He lives on Long Island with his family.
For commissions, originals, or anything else: joe@grafixjoker.com
Response time varies depending on the Mets schedule.