Joyce Taylor Email & Phone Number

After many years teaching art and design I decided to become a full time artist and build a new studio next to my house which was complete in late 2022. I paint landscapes, seascapes and still life in a variety of media, depending on subject matter or whether I am working en plain air or in my studio. In the past I have worked mainly in watercolours or oils, however in recent paintings I have experimented with acrylics on canvas and wooden panels. Although I live in a rural Aberdeenshire I find myself constantly drawn to the coastal villages of N-East Aberdeenshire. My creative process begins by walking around with my sketch book and sitting for a while to really look and absorb the atmosphere of a place, while studying the colours, textures, forms and deciding how to compose a piece of work to bring attention to a detail that has caught my eye or to convey the atmosphere of a fleeting moment in time. Many of the coastal villages of my childhood which hadn't changed much in hundreds of years are now ghost towns off season. These once busy communities which were supported by local industry and where everyone knew everyone are now predominantly second homes or holiday destinations . Visiting off season, one is often alone to explore or paint without interruption, however this also emphasises the vulnerability of being alone in an empty place but also the fragility of these beautiful villages. Not only vulnerable by the loss of permanent residents but to climate change, rising sea levels and recent increasingly ferocious storms. I believe my strengths come from a lifetime of observing, my connection to a place, strong draughtsmanship underpins my work, while seeing the beauty in front of me. When working in my studio I can concentrate on the placement of objects into a desired composition, focusing on colours, form and tone. My process remains the same.....I sketch, consider the composition and move things until I am happy. I know once started I will be constantly making decisions and thinking about the painting often changing things until I decide it is finished. I tend to work on one painting until I am happy with it before starting a new work. I have a sketch book full of ideas for more experimental work and I am excited about where the journey will take me.I have had the privilege of exhibiting my work in solo exhibitions in the UK, France and Canada. My paintings can be found in corporate collections in Scotland and France and in private collections in UK, France, Qatar, Jamaica, Germany, Norway and Canada.

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  Robert Gordon University Gray'S School Of Art