ARTIST
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Capturing Character on
Canvas
By Heather N. Russell-Simmons Photography Courtesy of Joyce Garner
For artist Joyce Garner, “Happiness is a large white canvas.” A selftaught painter, Garner described color and texture as something that, “Made me smile inside.” The attraction to color and texture lead her to library books in the 1970s. “In the books I read, oil paint was the medium,” she said. “Acrylics were not mentioned and water colors are not saturated enough to excite me.” Although she continues to paint with oil, Garner has explored content and scale throughout thirty-plus years of exhibiting her work. Her content started with apples. “I painted apples for years,” she said. Through experimentation, Garner found that the apples painted from her imagination were more vibrant than the apples she painted realistically.
2 1 American Pie, Oil on Canvas, 5’ X 14’ Don McLean’s song of the same name was going through Garner’s mind when she painted “American Pie.” For Garner, imagery can trigger a familiar song. “I think your subconscious does that sometimes,” she said. 2 Artist Joyce Garner at the easel painting, “Lovers”.
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The same was true of the early portraits in her career, which she wanted to be physically true to the subject. Over time, her focus shifted away from realism. “I don’t want the physical characteristics to be realistic,” said Garner. “But I do want the expression of feelings and emotions, the character of the person, to be real,” she said. “My work doesn’t spell it out,” she explains. “I expect the viewer to do some of the work.” “My work has become more personal,” said Garner. One distinct personal element to her work is the presence of checkerboard tables. “The only art created in my family were quilts,” said Garner. “Quilts are a very Kentucky art form.” The checkerboard is a way for Garner to honor her family as well as the patterns of a quilt. It is also an opportunity to play with color, circling back to her initial attraction to painting.