When glancing through a collection of Joseph Todorovitch's paintings, the first striking aspect of his work is his use of shadow and neutral color to create a reflective mood in his models. He frequently paints young women who all share the same waifish beauty, and they gaze at the audience expectantly, and invite a conversation. You can't refuse the invitation!

Todorovitch revealed to Southwest Art something of the inspiration for his work; he grew up in California, and graduated from California State University with a degree in art. He claims that he loves the challenge of painting people, in representing their emotional and psychological states while also remaining true to the reality in front of him.   

Todorovitch told SavvyPainter that he finds motivation from "a desire to represent something faithfully," and that desire is obvious to even the most novice of art-appreciators. He does not paint in a hyper-realistic style, but rather softens visual reality with manipulation of color and positioning, while never losing the beauty that he sees before him. This sort of awareness of both evident and hidden realities can only come from being present in the moment, which Todorovitch claims is key to his method: "Ultimately [being a dedicated artist] comes down to the ability of the student to be patient with the process and put in the time to get their work finished. In our society, we want to move things along at a breakneck pace but Joseph teaches the necessity of slowing down and being present."

The paintings of Joseph Todorovitch please the eye, not in an idle or uninteresting way, as a generic portrait or plain landscape might; instead, he captures the imagination with his models inviting the viewer into dialogue. His paintings pose questions without offering answers, and the beauty of the emotion portrayed through his brush is both fascinating and haunting.