Joy became interested in wildlife during a holiday to the Canadian Rockies with her husband in 1996. The breathtaking scenery and variety of wildlife encountered inspired her desire to paint what she had seen.
THE ARTIST
Having tried various mediums she acquired an unwanted box of chalk pastels from a friend, and took up the challenge of this medium when she noticed an advert for a Wildlife Art competition in a a magazine in 2000.
The subject of her painting was a beautiful
Sumatran Tiger called Musi whom she had recently photographed. She was
surprised to receive a Highly Commended Certificate for her work , but
more importantly it gave her the encouragement and confidence to continue
painting wildlife.
Her passion for the wild and concern for conservation grew and in 2001 Joy became a member of the Wildlife Art Society International, in order to become more actively involved and support fundraising events. Through the Society Joy has successfully exhibited and sold original art and photographic work at annual events.
More recently in 2006 and
2008 she was awarded a Gold Citation for her photographic work of birds in
flight from the Wildlife Art Society International at the Annual Exhibitions. Both
Joy and Neil have for many years participated in Snow Leopard sponsorship by
supporting the species support scheme.
Joy feels her work is
greatly inspired by meeting her subjects face to face, something she could not achieve by working solely in a studio environment.
She also finds it rewarding to use her own reference material to compose a painting and experience first hand the environment these
creatures live in both home and overseas.
Please see Gallery for more artwork and images
THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Joy’s interest in photography began over 20 years ago but it was her desire to take better pictures which lead her to embark on a City and Guilds Qualification in 2001/2002. Her objective was to learn how to use the camera more effectively and experience first hand traditional black and white developing/printing as well as the latest digital technology. Having successfully completed the course Joy now takes every opportunity to photograph different subjects, and feels that something can be learnt from every assignment. She continually seeks to improve the standard of her work whether it be digital or film. Her wildlife images have been published several times in support of conservation.