Joan Hart

About the Artist

  I have loved the outdoors since I was a small child.  My love of painting came later yet it flows directly from this earlier passion.  I seek to capture the aliveness of the natural world through the strong use of color and attention to the shapes found in nature.  as I evolve as an artist, I am experimenting with pushing shape and color to a more abstract, elemental level while continuing to maintain an emotional connection to my subject.  What I love about making art is that it is always a journey, never a destination.  I hope to take whoever views my art on the journey with me. I have recently moved from the Eastern Shore of Maryland to the mountains surrounding Frederick, Maryland.  I miss the Shore with its unique landscapes and wildlife but am finding new inspiration in the tree-covered mountains and rolling farmlands of Western Maryland. It's a challenge to go from painting marshes to painting mountains.  Other challenges I have taken on recently are, painting abstracts and experimenting with acrylics on paper.  Change breeds change and excitement.   Some of my most influential art heroes from the past are the cave artists of Ice Age Europe, Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Bonnard, Whistler, Sargent, and Diebenkorn.  Some of my favorite contemporary artists who have provided instruction, support and/or inspiration to me are:  Nancy Tankersley, Walt Bartman, Mathew Hillier, Katie Cassidy, and Andrew Stevovich. Is it possible that there are more artists working, creating, and inspiring today than ever before?  I think so.  We live in rich and interesting times. My paintings, drawings, and sculptures have appeared in juried shows at the Foundry Gallery, Eklektikos Gallery, Rockville Art League, Montgomery County Art League, Yellow Barn, Glen Echo Gallery, Old Brick Inn, and the Chestertown Arts League.  I have also exhibited in shows at the Kent Island Federation of the Arts, Art Academy of Easton, Chesapeake College, and the Easton Club. I have been juried into the Local Color Show held during Plein Air Easton and the Oxford Fine Arts Annual Show.