JOYCE SMALL GALLERY

ABOUT JOYCE SMALL

Joyce was interested in drawing since childhood, but didn’t study art until college, when she took a few courses. she thought she had no talent when compared to the more advanced students, and gave up, earning a BA in French literature. After graduation, she went to work for Pan American World Airways, and eventually started her own travel agency, in Los Altos, California.

Many years later she went to a Dale Chihuly glass exhibit, and was in complete awe at the beauty of his work. In 1997 she and her husband moved to Washington State to be near their grandchildren. This provided an opportunity to take glassblowing lessons, as she had never forgotten the colors and shapes of Chihuly’s glass. She didn’t let the fact that she was 57 stop her from following her dream. After two years of hard work, she switched to oil painting. 25 years later and after much instruction, she still loves painting in oils. While living on Whidbey Island she took part in several exhibits, and won first place for a portrait in the Island County Fair.

She and her husband, Jack, moved to Panama when they retired, in 2010. It is a beautiful country and they loved the culture. She joined the local art society and exhibited in juried shows, as well as a number of private shows, including a gallery at the Sheraton Hotel in Panama City. Although they enjoyed their time there, they decided to return to the United States to be closer to their children, when Jack became seriously ill. Her focus was to take care of him, so she had little time to paint for the next four years.

Alone now, she paints with a passion. Her work is evolving. “I see humanity as living in two worlds at the same time – the world of truth, and the world of illusion. Grace, is the state of love, which I achieve through forgiveness, and by releasing all judgement. My painting is inspired by Spirit. I meditate every morning and often see pictures in my mind that I paint. Now, I like to paint abstracts or expressionist paintings, using color and form to evoke a heart felt response from my viewers.” Recent research is finding that people respond to color. An example is the color black, which is very strong, associated in western culture with evil and anger. Cheerful colors can be yellow, or pink, and blue or lavender which might evoke a sense of tranquility. Chagall said: “Color is all. When color is right, form is right. Color is everything, color is vibration like music; everything is vibration.”

EDUCATION
Joyce has a BA in French Literature from San Francisco State University. She also studied art as a young woman at Long Beach State University, and University of California at San Francisco. At age 57, she began studying art at the Pratt Institute in Seattle WA, took glassblowing lessons at the Pratt Institute, and Uptown Glass, then switched to painting, studying, again at Pratt, with private teacher, Hellen Amero, and was coached by painter Ted Basrak.

EXHIBITIONS
She entered her first juried show at the Island County, WA fair, in 2002, and won first prize for a portrait of a young girl. During the years 2003 – 2008, she had private shows in 3 galleries on Whidbey Island, WA, and donated many of her paintings to charitable exhibits.

She moved to Panama in 2010, and began displaying her art at a juried show at the Boquete Community Center, and at a charitable art auction in 2011. In 2012, she had a private exhibit at the library’s new art gallery in Boquete, as well as a juried show organized by Boquete Artworks. The library was built and funded by an American citizen from Pennsylvania, Price Peterson, who commissioned a portrait of his sister, Linnea, who has since passed, but before her passing had inspired him to build the library in Boquete.  It is the first lending library in Panama.  Linnea’s portrait hangs in the lobby of the library.

In February of 2013, she had 2 paintings displayed at the library gallery, as part of a music themed exhibit, and a private show and reception at The Rock restaurant. In March she had a private show at the top rated restaurant, Cuatro, in David. In December, she was part of a month long show in Panama City at the Sheraton Hotel art gallery.

From 2014 to 2018 she was not active, for personal reasons. In 2018 she began painting again, and showed some of them at the Angel Gallery in Coeur d’Alene Idaho. She was part of a 2 person show at Unity Church in 2018, and again in 2019.

Now, she sells her paintings on Saatchi.com, or through commissions she receives locally. She loves exploring new subjects for her art, ever pushing her boundaries.