Joseph was born in 1950 in Lebanon and migrated to Australia in 1988.  He was educated by the French Jesuits in Beirut at their highly selective private college where he studied French and Arabic philosophy.  Joseph is multilingual, speaking fluent English, French, Arabic and Lebanese.

He went on to study at the Lebanese University of Beirut where he completed his degree in Higher Studies in Interior Design.  He then undertook a Diploma in Graphic Arts at the Ecole Estienne de Paris in France in 1978.

Joseph returned to Beirut to work in one of the best interior design firms there which catered for wealthy Lebanese in the Arab countries and France as well as in Lebanon.

After his father’s death in 1980, Joseph was elected Managing Director of the family curtain and upholstery firm in Beirut.  The business had prospered under astute planning and guidance for many generations but war and inflation combined to lead to its almost total collapse.  The war also led to Joseph’s decision to migrate to Australia.  He started his new life with very little money and the need to survive ensured he learnt English quickly.

Joseph’s hobbies are photography, computers, travelling and movies.  Photography has been a passion of his from an early age.  Self-taught  photographer, his photographic work is popular.

He always admired people who could both draw and paint and he mixed with such artists at university in Lebanon.  Joseph himself was not good at drawing freehand but he was adept at using the tools of an architect or interior designer.  His desire to draw was at last satisfied when he discovered computers and editing software.  From there he progressed to the art which he practices now.