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Jo Coyle

Drawing, Painting, Paper / Book / Illustration, Printmaking, Visual / Media

My mission is to describe and introduce "emotional functionality" through visual textures and works, and to communicate the importance of art's potential to provoke internal awareness and exploration as well as serve physically functional purposes.

About the Artist

Working on abstract mixed media and illustration to upcycled tins and pattern design, Jo Coyle considers her works and motivations to be led by an internal "art roulette." Jo graduated from Mount St. Mary's University with a BA in Fine Art, after studying fine art and film in high school at Carver Center for Arts & Technology in Towson, MD. Though her strengths lie mainly in fine art, she is developing new interest and skill in both traditional and digital illustration and design. Jo believes art is a method with which to externalize emotion and one's mind. It's how she expresses her creativity and passion for things often seen, yet taken for granted every day, such as simple forms and colors that stand out and capture the eye.

Jo Coyle website Portfolio

Artist's Statement

Current Series: Purge Artist's Statement I have been shifting my career back to my first love: art. For years I got caught up in “the grind” of trying to have something to show for myself—a corner office, a cushy paycheck, maybe even a serious blazer with a funky pattern on the inside so people thought I was professional but also still myself (because how else can you show that you’ve got balance in your life?) Yet I realized failure after failure that all of these, after a sorely needed value check, don’t really mean much to me, and never have past a symbol of success in the eyes of others. Pregnancy during a pandemic and a harrowing postpartum experience have really drilled in the fact that life is short. Too short. I realized I missed doing something for myself. For years my art has been done for others, and I hated that. While I have the time, I am ensuring that a huge chunk of what I do comes from the creative part of my brain that has long been muted. So, I’m currently working on a fresh series of abstract mixed media paintings. I’m taking back art as a form of play and expression, breathing new life into old materials that have been gathering over the past ten years, about the same amount of time since I graduated from college and set foot into the workforce. A decade in it almost feels too late to change what I’ve been doing this whole time, but I’m happy I’m taking the leap.

Featured Work

Photos

A piece of my current project, "Purge," a fresh series of abstract mixed media paintings. I’m taking back art as a form of play and expression, breathing new life into old materials that have been gathering over the past ten years, about the same amount of time since I graduated from college and set foot into the workforce.
A piece of my current project, "Purge," a fresh series of abstract mixed media paintings. I’m taking back art as a form of play and expression, breathing new life into old materials that have been gathering over the past ten years, about the same amount of time since I graduated from college and set foot into the workforce.
A piece of my current project, "Purge," a fresh series of abstract mixed media paintings. I’m taking back art as a form of play and expression, breathing new life into old materials that have been gathering over the past ten years, about the same amount of time since I graduated from college and set foot into the workforce.
A piece of my current project, "Purge," a fresh series of abstract mixed media paintings. I’m taking back art as a form of play and expression, breathing new life into old materials that have been gathering over the past ten years, about the same amount of time since I graduated from college and set foot into the workforce.
Private Commission
A piece of my current project, "Purge," a fresh series of abstract mixed media paintings. I’m taking back art as a form of play and expression, breathing new life into old materials that have been gathering over the past ten years, about the same amount of time since I graduated from college and set foot into the workforce.