Joe Sartor is an acrylic painter and longtime resident artist at the Rowan County Arts Center. A native of Fulton, Missouri, he has lived in Morehead, Kentucky since 1968, when he relocated after earning a Master of Arts degree from the University of Missouri. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Centenary College of Louisiana and is a three-year veteran of the United States Army.

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Sartor joined the faculty of Morehead State University in 1968, where he taught studio art for more than three decades, retiring in 2000 as an associate professor. During his tenure, he taught courses in ceramics, basic design, drawing, and painting, and supervised undergraduate and graduate independent projects. He exhibited widely in regional and national exhibitions throughout his teaching career.

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Working primarily in acrylics, Sartor creates representational paintings infused with imaginative humor and subtle social commentary. His compositions explore spatial relationships and seek visual unity, often guided by evocative titles that provide narrative connections. In addition to painting almost daily in his studio at the Arts Center, he has maintained a long involvement with the Morehead Art Guild and Theatre Guild, participating both on stage and as a scenic painter. He is also an active choral singer and a member of the Tru Tone 5 barbershop harmony group.