People face challenges, and they struggle. The faces of this struggle have become the focus of my art since the death of my life-long partner. My role is a facilitator, bringing forth each person; a process that claims my attention and demands honesty

Mixed Media - Portraiture

: This is a collection of paintings that combines watercolor, specialty paper, tea bags, newspaper, texture mediums, sand—you get the idea.

Mixed Media & Collages

Artwork with a focus on our lives as humans, our impact on each other and our impact on our environment.

Social Commentary

The following pieces I have selected from what I am calling my Studio Work. It is the creative work I do that is more impulsive and experimental. As well as the learning aspect of this work, it is very relaxing and often surprising in what emerges. I chose to share these as a way of letting you into my creative process. My bottom line always is making connections with viewers. These seemed to me to be another step towards that goal.

Studio Work

These are elaborate collage pieces.  I create designs with ink on sheets of paper.  On a piece of heavy watercolor paper or Multimediaboard I sketch out the image I want to represent with these designs.  From there it is a process of choosing which design goes where, cutting the pieces to fit the specific shape and finally gluing each one onto the image. I lightly coat the completed piece of work with a clear gel to secure its integrity.

Pattern  People - assembled cut pieces of hand-drawn patterns

I enjoy painting flowers and plants. I can play with shapes and indulge my love of color.

 My more recent paintings are the product of a several step process that I enjoy immensely.  I put down the background and let that dry.  Then, after much staring at what emerges, I coax out shapes by adding and subtracting color. What gradually emerges over time is always a surprise and an interesting journey.

Garden Dwellers

I love texture.  As a potter and as a painter texture has always been a large part of my creativity. This collection is devoted exclusively to that quality of my work.  As well as watercolors, I use modeling paste, specialty paper, matte and glossy gels, and sand as well as gesso to give the work depth and to create lots of interest for the eyes of the viewer.

Paintings of a Texturephile - Designs

I love texture.  As a potter and painter texture has been a large part of my creativity. This collection is devoted to that quality of my work.  As well as watercolors, I use a variety of media to create lots of interest for the the viewer.

These pieces are not shown off well as images.  They do best when seen “live.”  The complexity of the texture along with the interplay of different gels and paints creates a changing pattern that continues to shift. It will change in the morning light as it will again in the light of the afternoon and evening. You will see it differently up close, at a distance and from an angle. These are “living” pieces that continue to offer the viewer new information and to give new experiences with each viewing.

Paintings of a Texturephile - Images

I love doing abstracts, but it is a challenge for me.  Playing with the paint is the easy part.  Working on a composition is the hard part.   It is all about letting go while still hanging on to a bit of discipline. At least for me, I never know how the painting will turn out.

Abstracts, Representational & Stylized Abstracts

I like simplicity. Repeated simplicity can also create interesting complications and unexpected shapes. These paintings grow out of repeatedly layering images. I totally enjoy creating these paintings along with their unexpected surprises. The line drawings are such a wonderful background on which to flow watercolors. These paintings are done with ink and watercolor.

Blurred Vision-People

These pieces form a collection around bright colors, places and people.

It matters to me that the people and animals I paint not be generic but be presented as individuals with their distinctive personalities. No matter the other artistic goals, that goal remains fundamental.

Bright Colors, Places and People

I grouped these paintings as monochromes and impressions.
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Monochromes and Impressions

I have been observing cats all my life. Only recently did it occur to me to paint them. Now I find painting other animals an interesting challenge.

Animal Personalities

The idea of using geometric shapes to create a feeling of life and fluidity is the genesis of my collection entitled Home of The Planet People. It arises out of a two lovely gifts: one an Iris Drawing Compass and the other a box of watercolors made from clay. The precision of the mechanical combined with the earthiness of the clay is what creates the whole I am after.

Depicting individuals engaged in all of their many activities is my artistic pleasure.

Planet People

For me drawing and painting are a struggle between Control and Letting Go.  These Stained Glass Paintings reflect that struggle.  The original lines are geometric shapes drawn with a pencil taped to the end of a 4 foot dowel; definitely a loss of Control.  Those lines are then inked over. Regaining Control, I spend some time inking in overlapping shapes that I find interesting.  I finish up searching out a few of the original underlying geometric shapes and, using translucent watercolors, color in those shapes.

Stained Glass

I never know how these paintings will turn out.  I lay down an under-painting and then begin to work on teasing out shapes of interest.  The work takes a while and includes lots of staring at the piece to get a feel for it.  Ultimately, it is an enjoyable, if sometimes, tedious process; a mind bender for the artist as well as viewer.

Mind Benders

I recently became interested in what could be done using straight lines only, focusing on factors in design and creating drama with the use of monochrome and strong whites. I expect these rules to lead in new directions overtime.

Some of these which are marked were inspired by photos in the Isaiah Rice Photograph Collection. The rest are inspired by random photographs.

Straightline Creations

I like simplicity. Repeated simplicity can also create interesting complications and unexpected shapes. These paintings grow out of repeatedly layering images. I totally enjoy creating these paintings along with their unexpected surprises. The line drawings are such a wonderful background on which to flow watercolors.  These paintings are done with ink and watercolor

Joyce Ann Burton-Sousa