Joe Tanous was born in North Dakota. He received a BFA from California College of Arts and Crafts, spent ten years in commercial art and then studied art at the University of California at Davis (MFA). He has had solo shows at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Crocker Gallery in Sacramento, U.C. Davis, University of Stockton, American University of Beirut, and the Carmel Art Association.

Joe passed away November 22, 2021.