I grew up in a very creative home. My mother even let me color on my walls…ok, she was going to repaint the room in the near future, but it still was a wonderful feeling. I always loved art and majored in Studio Art at the University of Maryland in College Park. After college I studied life drawing at the Jewish Community Center in Rockville. I like drawing the human figure and love from time to time putting figures into the landscape. For many years I also was an art model.
I taught art to young children at a Montgomery County Recreation Center, and also in my home. I was taken with the children’s art that was expressive, bold and so authentic. Adult artists sometimes need to reconnect with the approach that children naturally have.
I love color and am drawn to the beautiful colors in nature. To me a painting often exhibits all the arts. A judge, while talking about one of my paintings, said he feels like it tells a story. He said he felt like birds were nesting in the bushes. People started staring close up, trying to find the birds!!!..There can be drama in a painting, and the feeling of loud and soft notes like in music.. A painting can look like a dance with beautiful rhythms. In 2024, I formed a group of six wonderful artists that I called, “The Colorists.” We all met taking plein air classes at the Yellow Barn Gallery. We had a major show in 2024 at the Glenview Mansion.
Art is also about connections. I’m happy if the viewer feels a connection to my paintings. I also love if the joy of color will be experienced. Joanie Grosfeld