The Artist...
I took a sabbatical from painting in 2020 and spent the next two years focused on drawing, learning the classical method through the Sadie Valerie Online Atelier, utilizing graphite then charcoal and chalk while working with Bargue plates, plaster casts, and ultimately still life, all through direct observation. Now I have brought that experience into the painting curriculum to focus on the multilayered technique of indirect painting followed by scumbling and glazing, direct, and alla prima. I also have a Bachelor in Fine Art from Grand Valley State University.
For me drawing and painting are more than just a fulfilling and challenging activity. They are the foundation of a visual language; a language of subtlety, depth, and perception. A language that has infused a sense of meaning into our existence over the eras and created a wonderful lineage of artists and work to continually reflect upon and be formed by. Soaking in the rich content of this history, I desire to continually hone my painting and drawing technique in order to produce solid, refined, and meaningful work while also laboring to discern and articulate a coherent philosophy of art and aesthetics that lays the foundation for the work I create and an open door to understanding expression alongside observation.
The Work…
My current work is created in the classical realist style and completed from life with a focus on luminosity and expression. While working by means of direct observation and reflection, I aim to develop something interpretive, not a mere copy. I also desire to capture the feeling of light, the beauty of it as it washes over a form and is absorbed, reflected and illuminated within. Using various forms of drapery, natural objects, and vessels in a still life I am able to create arrangements that allow for an exploration of the value structure of any given subject and the place to hone my skills while also assimilating knowledge gained from master artists of the past and present. Overall, I aim for an expression of beauty, quiet stillness and an atmospheric sense of space that one can enter into with their imagination and explore at will.
M. Joy Lemon
2023
I took a sabbatical from painting in 2020 and spent the next two years focused on drawing, learning the classical method through the Sadie Valerie Online Atelier, utilizing graphite then charcoal and chalk while working with Bargue plates, plaster casts, and ultimately still life, all through direct observation. Now I have brought that experience into the painting curriculum to focus on the multilayered technique of indirect painting followed by scumbling and glazing, direct, and alla prima. I also have a Bachelor in Fine Art from Grand Valley State University.
For me drawing and painting are more than just a fulfilling and challenging activity. They are the foundation of a visual language; a language of subtlety, depth, and perception. A language that has infused a sense of meaning into our existence over the eras and created a wonderful lineage of artists and work to continually reflect upon and be formed by. Soaking in the rich content of this history, I desire to continually hone my painting and drawing technique in order to produce solid, refined, and meaningful work while also laboring to discern and articulate a coherent philosophy of art and aesthetics that lays the foundation for the work I create and an open door to understanding expression alongside observation.
The Work…
My current work is created in the classical realist style and completed from life with a focus on luminosity and expression. While working by means of direct observation and reflection, I aim to develop something interpretive, not a mere copy. I also desire to capture the feeling of light, the beauty of it as it washes over a form and is absorbed, reflected and illuminated within. Using various forms of drapery, natural objects, and vessels in a still life I am able to create arrangements that allow for an exploration of the value structure of any given subject and the place to hone my skills while also assimilating knowledge gained from master artists of the past and present. Overall, I aim for an expression of beauty, quiet stillness and an atmospheric sense of space that one can enter into with their imagination and explore at will.
M. Joy Lemon
2023