Jeffrey T. Larson

Joe Hawkins is a cinematographer based in North Carolina.

Originally from England, Joe trained as a runner and camera assistant with the BBC, one of the main public service broadcasters in England, on television productions including Doctors, WPC56, Father Brown and The Game.

After establishing Joe Hawkins Films, Joe joined a team of writers and filmmakers to produce an independent documentary for the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fighers Association about the Battle of Britain, a major military campaign that took place during the Second World War. During the project, which was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Joe served as a camera operator, but also directed and edited the film. Since its completion, the documentary has been released in six museums across Britain, and accepted by the British Film Institute.

In 2016, Joe moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, with his wife. Through his wife’s work as a scientist and artist, he met a team of influential oil painters specializing in classical realism, and helped establish an art studio, East Oaks Studio, dedicated to producing high quality online educational material for artists worldwide. As the studio’s cinematographer, Joe created, directed and edited online tutorials, but also started producing a series of short documentaries to depict the lives of classical realist artists. This work reveals the hidden challenges faced by artists in the field of classical realism, and the longstanding passions that are driving them to compete with other contemporary art movements. Joe’s latest project, “Jeffery T. Larson”, expands on this work to provide deeper insights into the history of classical realism in the United States, while revealing how Larson’s thirst for independence and mastery of this art form have led him to become one of America’s most renowned artists today.