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Joan Hughes

Joan Hughes Artist.jpg

Joan uses the expression “painting as play” to describe her approach to the canvas. As in play, the outcome is a complete surprise to her, because she is led each step of the way not by a vision of the completed work but by the emerging interactions of colour, shape, light, and texture in the painting itself.

Each new mark adds to the unfolding rhythms, transitions, and interplays being created. In fact, as Joan paints, she is often heard saying out loud, "There's a note missing here," as she scans the "musical score" emerging from the 
complex relationships of the elements of the painting. 

 

Joan owes this playfulness to her painting master from 1972 to 1982, Ottawa artist, Brodie Shearer, who brilliantly transmitted to his students an understanding and appreciation of the innovations of European artists, such as Cézanne, Picasso, Matisse, Dufy, and Bonnard. From them, Joan has inherited what some have called her “French chic”, while adding her own elements of childlike playful simplicity. 

 

Interested in personal and spiritual growth, Joan’s canvasses reflect her exploration of joy, fun, and freedom through her paintings. 

 

Joan’s work has been shown in galleries in Ottawa, where she resides, and is in personal and corporate collections in Canada, USA and Europe. 

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