BIO BECKY JOY
Becky Joy is best known for her vibrant landscapes that so accurately capture glowing light and shadow. Her paintings burst with abundant colors and powerful, thick textures. Painting in the historic Plein Air style, she paints impressions of what she sees and feels in her creative trips to the open air and in the studio. Viewing her work brings every sense to life, creating an expectation of the kiss of a mountain breeze, the scent of mesquite and sage in an oncoming storm. The taste of salt water on the tongue, or the visual explosion of color in the setting sun’s vast sky. The impulse is to reach out and touch her paintings, to become a part of the scene she has created in oil. True to her desire for painting from life, Becky also paints luscious and colorful still lifes.
Born and raised in Portland, OR, Becky Joy raised her family there. During this time she took art classes at the local college and tried several different art forms. After moving to Arizona in 1993, Becky attended classes and workshops at the Scottsdale Artist’s School then began to hike and paint in the desert that surrounds her home. Becky juried into Women Artists of the West in 1997. In the summer of 1998, she was included in a show at the Phippen Museum in Prescott, AZ called Painters of the American Desert. She has been published in Art of the American West and in 2001 was chosen as the cover and poster artist for Hidden in the Hills Artists Directory. She was featured in an article in the Feb 2006 issue of Southwest Art Magazine and April 2010 in Phoenix Home and Gardens Magazine. Three of her works were purchased by the Kierland Resort and Spa. Her paintings have also been collected by American Equity Insurance, Banner Hospital and Pioneer Home Bank. 2003 brought Becky the Southwest Art Magazine Award at the annual Phippen Art Show in Prescott. Becky has been a juried member of the American Academy of Women Artists and is currently a juried member of the Arizona Plein Air Painters, signature member of Plein Air Painters New Mexico and Plein Air Artists Colorado, American Women Artists, American Impressionist Society and Oil Painters of America. She has shown in national juried shows including Oil Painters of America National Show 2010 and Salon International 2010 and been the recipient of several awards. Becky has shown her work in galleries in Colorado, Oregon, Utah, California, Arizona and New Mexico.
ARTIST STATEMENT BECKY JOY
I use oil paint as a tool to express my emotions and feelings about nature, whether it is a still life or a landscape. Growing up in Oregon, I developed a lifelong affinity for the outdoors through hiking, gardening and camping.
My initial response of awe and wonder to a scene is usually sparked by dramatic lighting or a mood. Subtle temperature and color changes become more apparent as I become familiar and involved with the intimacies of the scene. That awe and wonderment about my subjects is what I want to convey to the viewer through my paintings.
After careful planning, consideration and drawing, I quickly paint in the dark shapes with thin paint using a large, flat brush. The energy and excitement of this brushwork is left for the viewer to discover and feel the emotional connection to my work. The final strokes of light, thick paint complete my paintings. These brush strokes are my unique "handwriting" which, hopefully, engages the viewer in my creative process. What the viewer experiences and feels in time, temperature and mood is as important as my experiences in painting the scene. They complete the process by becoming my partner.
To me oil paint has a sculptural quality and spontaneous nature. I love the buttery feel of the paint, the richness in colors, both vibrant and subtle. Painting is a building process using careful planning, energy, control and spontaneity. For me the foundation of a good piece of art is an emotional connection between the artist and the viewer. And this is what I strive for.
RESUME BECKY JOY
2010 Salon International 2010 Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX
Bucks County Art Gallery, FB Fall Art Challenge art show, PA
Paint America, mini 50 and top 200
Scottsdale Artists School Best and Brightest
OPA National Show, Legacy Gallery, Scottsdale
Shirl Smithson OPA Scholarship 2010
Richeson 75 International Art Competition Still Life & Floral 2010, Kimberly, WI
2009 Winner in the Facebook Annual Fall Painting Challenge
American Women Artists Annual Art Show, Eaton, MD
Mountain Oyster Annual Art Show, Tucson, AZ
Estes Park Plein Air Competition
San Luis Obispo Plein Air Competition
AZ Plein Air Painters Members Annual Show, Sedona, AZ
Scottsdale Artists School Scholarship
Celebration of Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ
Escalante Plein Air, Escalante, UT
2008 Escalante Plein Air Festival, 2nd place
Celebration of Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ
2007 Realism Guild Annual Show at Manitou Gallery, Santa Fe
San Luis Obispo Plein Air Competition, San Luis Obispo, CA
Scottsdale Artists School Scholarship
Celebration of Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ
2006 San Luis Obispo Plein Air Competition, San Luis Obispo, CA
2005 Estes Park Plein Air Competition, Estes Park, CO
Celebration of Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ
2000 Annual Phippen Art Show, Prescott, AZ, Southwest Art Magazine Award
Jane Hamilton Fine Art Gallery, group show, Tucson
1999 Mountain Oyster Annual Show, Tucson, AZ
1998 "Painters of the Desert" Group Show at Phippen Museum, Prescott, AZ
AFFILIATIONS
2009- Plein Air Artists Colorado, Signature Member
2009-American Impressionist Society
2009- Oil Painters of America
2009- Plein Air Painters New Mexico, Signature Member
2009- Arizona Plein Air Painters
2009- American Women Artists
2007 International Guild of Realism
1999-2007 American Academy of Women Artists
1998 Women Artists of the West
PUBLICATIONS
2010 Apr Phoenix Home & Gardens Magazine feature
2009 Sept Art Collector Magazine, Artist Focus
2007 Feb. Southwest Art Magazine, Tales of the Tree
2001 Hidden in the Hills directory
2000 Scottsdale Tribune article
2000 Sonoran News article
1999 "Art of the West" book
1998 Palm Desert News article
EDUCATION
Clackamas Community College, Clackamas, OR
Ralph Oberg and Wayne Wolfe, juried masters workshop, Ouray, CO
Ray Roberts, Scottsdale Artists School, plein air painting
Kenn Backhaus, Scottsdale Artists School, plein air painting
Matt Smith, Scottsdale Artists School, plein air and studio painting
Joseph Paquette, St. Paul, MN, studio and plein air painting
Joseph Paquette, composition class, Scottsdale Artists School
John Poon, Scottsdale Artists School, studio and plein air painting
Jean Chambers, Scottsdale Artists School, still life painting
Qiang Huang, Austin, TX, still life painting
2006 San Luis Obispo Plein Air Competition, San Luis Obi2005 Estes Park Plein Air Competition, Estes Park, CO
2006 San Luis Obispo Plein Air Competition, San Luis Ob2005 Estes Park Plein Air Competition, Estes Park, CO
2006 San Luis Obispo Plein Air Competition, San Luis Obispo, C2005 Estes Park Plein Air Competition, Estes Park,Celebrat2004-2001 Celebration of Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ
My Plein Air and Studio Blog
