Joan Roberts Garcia grew up in Dallas. As a very young woman she lived for 8 years in Mexico. The dryness and colors of the walls and other surfaces affected the way she experiences light.
She received a certificate in painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where she won awards; for painting; works in any medium, and landscape painting. Upon graduation, Joan was awarded a travelling scholarship, which she used to explore Spain. The Moorish architecture excited and inspired years of abstractions in mixed media. She completed her formal art education with an MFA in painting from the University of Washington.
Joan's art has gone through many transformations, as she works intuitively and it reflects whatever she is investigating. For years it was abstract, largely mixed media and monochromatic as she placed different materials, patterns and textures together to show their familiarities. Eventually missing color she returned to oil painting and more 2D mixed media. A recurring theme has been one of squashes and other organic forms, often painted at dusk - when they gradually disappear and become part of the darkness around them. Their undulating curves serve as surfaces to show the change of light. Joan considers these studies of organic forms to be portraits and expressions of states of being, rather than still-lifes.
Joan currently combines both the abstract and the carefully observed. More of her work can be seen at www.joanrobertsgarciaart.com . Her work is in museum and international collections.
She now lives in Placitas, as she happily transitions back to New Mexico from NYC - where she has maintained a studio and exhibited her work for many years.