Joy Peirson is a British born artist based in Vancouver. Largely self-taught, Joy remembers being encouraged and supported by her parents to draw from around five years old. Today Joy uses both watercolours and acrylics to capture the beauty of her home city and the surrounding landscape.
“ I love living in Vancouver and I am inspired by our incredible scenery every time I step outside of my door. I like the industrial grunge juxtaposed to the awesome mountains and ocean” says Joy. “ I love using watercolour and acrylic and I love seeing what will happen if I mix things up. I want the viewer to go, “Oh Wow ” just like I did when I first saw the scene I am painting.”
When asked about her artistic process, Joy explains that the process begins with small-scale watercolour pieces embellished with pen and ink. “Then I transfer to acrylics, which is so bright and vivid as opposed the often delicate feel of watercolour. I paint a small piece and then decide if I want to continue to a larger piece” she says.
Joy’s colour palette varies considerably, but her focus on Vancouver’s surrounding water and mountains means she often uses greens and blues in her work. “Each scene suggests its own palette.” she explains. “I love clear bright colours, including red touches to set off the blues and greens.”
Joy has exhibited her artwork in a variety of settings, including Abu Dhabi, White Rock, and Granville Island to name a few. She will also be showing her work at Pacific Arts Market in Vancouver during December.
When asked why people should visit her at Art Vancouver 2019 she explains “People should come to see my booth because my art depicts Vancouver and its surrounds. My art is colourful, vibrant and shows recognizable and familiar scenes. I have many repeat collectors.”
Be sure to catch Joy at Art Vancouver 2019 and at the 2018 Eastside Culture Crawl at William Clark Studios. You can also find her on Instagram and Facebook as Joy Peirson and at www.joypeirson.com
By Petra Giffard