Joseph's early education was very versatile and included both the performing and visual arts. Despite his obvious talent his parents decided that there was no future in painting as a profession and in 1967 enrolled him into university to study languages and literature in order to pursue a teaching career.

This was interrupted in 1970, when due to political unrest, they decided to emigrate from Yugoslavia to Australia. There he continued his formal education at Deakin University, Melbourne. He graduated in 1974, gaining a Diploma of Art majoring in Industrial Design. During this course he discovered watercolour as a medium and began to paint again, achieving instant success at art competitions, winning his first major art award in 1975.

In 1976, he took up a position with the Victorian State government as an arts adviser with the Department of Health. However most of his spare time was spent painting and he had his first solo exhibition in 1977 at Eastgate Gallery, Brighton, Melbourne.

In 1978 he took up painting full time, quickly establishing himself as a leading watercolourist. In time, he became a member of the Old Watercolour Society and its vice president from 1991 to 1994 and was also invited to join the Australian Guild of Realist Artists in 1988. He has been a member of the Victorian Artists Society since 1988 and a teacher at Charles Sturt University, Mitchell School of Arts. He is also a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society. In 1998 he was nominated and accepted for the esteemed membership of the Australian Watercolour Institute. In 2010, Zbukvic received a top 15 award in the Shanghai Zhujiajiao International Biennial Exhibition.

He has achieved an enormous success with his sensitively-rendered watercolours covering an incredible variety of subjects. He is equally comfortable with idyllic pastoral landscape, seascape, a bustling street scene or his latest pursuit of equine art. He can also turn his hand at an oil or pastel producing work of equally high standard with ease and is regarded as one of the best draughtsmen in the country. He has traveled to India, China, Indonesia, Europe and USA in search of subjects. He is widely appreciated as a watercolour tutor and art-show judge and his work is sought by fine art collectors worldwide.

His work can best be described as impressionistic with subtle tonal quality and a touch of romance. To date he has held 29 solo exhibitions and numerous shared exhibitions with other notable artists.

After a 20-year absence he visited Zagreb in 1990, receiving a warm welcome, and was made artist in residence at the Mimara Museum of Fine Art.