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1stAngel: When did you first become interested in art?
Joan: I’ve always been interested in drawing and took lessons as a child. In college I went with a “practical” course of study not realizing that art would become a passion later on. Only since my children have grown older have I had the time and confidence to pursue art as a vocation. Fortunately, I have learned the benefits of doing what makes you happy and have been immersed in artistic endeavors, one way or the other, ever since.
1stAngel: What style of art do you use most?
Joan: I mostly make fractal art these days, although I occasionally work in traditional mediums such as graphite, pastel, watercolor and oil. I saw fractals about 4 years ago and had to find out how they were made. After studying the images in online galleries, I decided to try some fractal generating programs.
1stAngel: Has your style changed from when you first began as an artist?
Joan: My style has totally changed since I started making art. I started drawing and painting realistic still lifes, landscapes, and pet portraits. I still like to work on those subjects in pastel but my appreciation of art has expanded to include abstract and semi-abstract work and all kinds of styles in traditional mediums as well as digital.
1stAngel: What medium do you use?
Joan: I use Ultra Fractal as my software of choice in making my fractal art.
1stAngel: What made you choose that medium?
Joan: Ultra Fractal is the most powerful fractal generating program that I have seen. It combines fractal mathematics with the ability to use layers, transparencies, masks and gradients in unlimited ways. There is an active Ultra Fractal community online that supports the program and helps the users of the program.
1stAngel: Do your ideas come from life or imagination?
Joan: In fractal art, the program starts with a formula to create a basic shape. The artist then chooses a coloring algorithm to apply and adjusts all kinds of variables and zoom levels to find an interesting area to explore. With experience, different effects can be achieved, but it helps if the artist has an idea of where she wants to go. I find that there is actually a give and take with the program since new layers change the look of the layers already in place. It’s a very fluid way to work and since you can save the final mathematical equations, you can go back to it and adjust or change it anytime in the future.
1stAngel: How do you choose your images and colours?
Joan: I’ve studied design and color theory but I always end up just choosing shapes and colors that I like. I love lots of color and currently, I’m doing a lot of work with textures.
1stAngel: Who is your favourite artist?
Joan: I don’t have one favorite but appreciate many different artists. However, I am partial to Renoir, Monet, van Gogh, and Picasso. I also like many contemporary artists and can find something good in almost every artist’s portfolio.
1stAngel: What is your favourite piece of work by yourself?
Joan: My current favorite is Fantasy Floral Triptych , which is in a gallery of its own at ImageKind, both as a single image and the three parts separately. Of course my favorite frequently changes and usually is the latest picture I’ve done.
1stAngel: How much time does it take to complete a work?
Joan: It can take between several hours to several weeks to finish any particular picture. It depends on what I am trying to accomplish and whether or not I have to start over. Also, depending on the formula I’m using, the computer can take hours to render the final image into an appropriate image file format.
1stAngel: How well do you take criticism?
Joan: I haven’t had a lot of harsh criticism so far. When I have gotten feedback, most people have been positive and supportive. If someone constructively points out problems with my work, I always try to take it in the proper spirit and learn from it. I don’t necessarily change the way I work or what I do, but I will think about it and consider the merits of the critic’s arguments.
1stAngel: What do you do to overcome a block?
Joan: I listed a few things that I do to overcome blocks in this article. Expanding on the idea of taking an art class, one of the things a classroom situation provides, besides creative companionship, is well-defined assignments. If you’re not taking a class, you can create assignments for yourself. This gives you a purpose or challenge to work with. For example, maybe you can try painting a landscape using only 2 colors and black and white. Or using pen and ink, draw a picture using as many different marks and patterns as you can think of to create your contrasts and textures. Sometimes structuring or even restricting your options expands your creative muscles.
1stAngel: How do you know something is finished? Is it easy to walk away?
Joan: Sometimes I get exactly what I want and know it’s time to stop. And sometimes, I get so engrossed in playing that I end up creating a dozen permutations of the original work. It isn’t always easy to say “Yes, it’s done.” But you have to take a stand somewhere or nothing would ever be finished. That said, I frequently go back to an old image and in reworking it, come up with something totally new. The beauty of working digitally is that reworking an old image doesn’t destroy the old one but simply adds a new piece to my portfolio.
1stAngel: Have you had exhibits in galleries?
Joan: I’ve shown some of my traditional work in a community college gallery and currently have some of my fractal work in a local gallery/studio called Creative Genius .
1stAngel: Have you any exhibits in galleries planned for the future?
Joan: I don’t have specific plans for exhibits but am always looking for opportunities. I hope to participate in at least one art fair later this year, and maybe find one more gallery to carry my work.
1stAngel: What are your plans for the future?
Joan: I plan to continue developing as an artist, show my work whenever I can and enjoy the wonderful art community that I’m getting to know online and in the real world.
Thank you.
Thank you Joan for allowing me the interview. Your work is beautiful and I am very grateful to you for sharing it with us!
You can view Joan’s gallery HERE
Website — HERE
Art Matters (blog) – HERE
Weekly Art Review (blog) – HERE
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