I was born and raised in Blacksock, ON, and still live just down the road from my family farm, in Nestleton. I became interested in painting 10 years ago when a neighbour asked me to help fill up her watercolour class. More recently with the lessening demands of motherhood and career outside the home, I have been able to undertake more formal study. I opened my Studio by the Green on Nestleton Rd. in 2004 and hold 2 shows a year. Nowadays, I actually miss it when I’m not able to pick up a paintbrush everyday and quite often will spend 5-8 hours daily down at the studio.

Although I still paint with watercolour in a whimsical style, my new exploration of acrylics is thrilling. I paint my abstracts purely intuitively. I make a mark and react to it. I love painting large. Scraping, gluing, glazing and manipulating paint with pure old elbow grease all contributes to the overall finished painting. I have studied under various artists locally and at the Haliburton School of the Arts, but my greatest influence has been Brian Atyeo and Claudia McCabe and I will continue to study under them whenever possible.

You can view more of my work on the Lake Scugog Studio Tour May 3 and 4, 2009 at Studio by the Green , Uxbridge Studio Tour Sept. 19-20, 2009 and at my annual Christmas Art Show Nov. 27-29 and Dec 4-6 at my Studio by the Green at the end of Nestleton Rd. Other times I am open by chance or appointment and may be reached at 905 213 4922. I hope you enjoy my paintings as much as I love creating them.

JOANNA MALCOLM