Joanie Springer, Contemporary Artist who started painting in her “Nanna” years and self-proclaimed organizational nut [See ART TIPS tab]. Completely obsessed with painting, she hopes to pass out of this life with a paintbrush in her hand (not for awhile though)!

I am soooo fortunate to be self-employed as that allows me to carve out time here and there to work on my paintings. I am most undeniably a daily painter….I seem to upload to my blog however in fits and starts, you see, when I am on a productive roll, I will paint for days even a week or two and not take the time to scan/photo and upload.  And then you’ll see a flurry of new work.

NOTE: Am starting to post on a daily schedule so that the postings more closely reflect the daily painting that I actually accomplish.

So please come back often and see what I’m up to…or better yet, sign up to receive notices when I post.

MEDIA:

UPDATE July 2010:  I’ve begun working in oils…..again, and omgosh, LOVE THEM.  I’m working on ignoring the smell that a year ago prevented me from using them at all.  I think I’m beginning to like the smell, imagine that.

Well, honestly what i love is the juicy smooshiness of oils.  Enjoy my new paintings.

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I work primarily in watermedia,  acrylics, gouache and watercolor.  I love working on wood and acrylic seems the best medium for that.  And can’t resist mixing it all up and that’s where the mixed media pieces evolve. I tried oils, but they are stinky, even without the turps.  Yep, even the water soluble ones. So it’s water media for me all the way. Now that I’m moving more into acrylics, I love Golden, who doesn’t?

STYLE: Eclectic fits this description, too.  Love figures, faces, anything that expresses soul.  For me art is as much a spiritual journey as it is a creative one.  And the two of these — creativity and spirituality — define what is most important to me. That’s not to say that a sense of humor and whimsy does not play its role in many of my pieces.

Note: That’s not really me at the left, just a quick doodle I did on the phone one day in about 30 seconds, perhaps a bit self-portrait-y….I really don’t know!

A bit of background about me, if you are interested…

EDUCATION
Master of Arts (Spirituality/Arts), Holy Names University
Bachelor of Arts (English/Creative Writing)  Sonoma State University

Always creative and artistically inclined, but in an artsy-craftsy way, I had never held a paintbrush in my hand until Sept 2007.  It was a birthday present to myself….permission to finally explore art.  Well, let’s be honest, I couldn’t even draw an apple to look like an apple.  But I had a desire to do so, figuring I had better learn how to draw before I started painting.  So I read Every Day Matters by Daniel Gregory ( you must read it!) And he insisted that drawing was something you learned.  That’s all I needed to hear.  SoI started drawing, and I was hooked.  Not long after I just had to add color, so a beautiful Schmincke watercolor set of 1/2 pans was my very first purchase.  I’d be embarrassed to tell you how many art supplies have followed that initial purchase! LOL.

Since the Fall of 2007, I continue to celebrate this journey which heals, inspires, and propels me ever toward the goal of expressing my soul’s interior whims and reflections through art. There’s no doubt at all that  something “bigger” or other dimensional insists on painting through me, so WE do it (wink)!  I’m happy to play along….and have found my bliss in the process.  No art school, no training, just an experience of joy and truckloads of learning along the way. Hope you enjoy my blog.