Joanne Brown

Discotheque - Watercolor Painting, 7" x 10", 1989

Discotheque - Digital Art, 2009

Discotheque - Coloring Card, 2009

Left: Discotheque - Watercolor Painting, 10" x 7", 1989

Center: Discotheque - Digital Art, 2009

Right - Discotheque - Coloring Card, 2009

Spinning Cones - Watercolor Painting, 7" x 11", 1989

Spinning Cones - Digital Art, 2021

Left: Spinning Cones - Watercolor Painting, 11" x 10", 1989

Right: Spinning Cones - Digital Art, 2021

Water Carpets, Watercolor on Paper, 10" x 7", 1989

Water Carpets, Digital Art, 2022

Left: Water Carpets, Watercolor on Paper, 10" x 7", 1989

Right: Water Carpets, Digital Art, 2022

Piano Keys, Watercolor on Paper, 10" x 7", 1989

Piano Keys, Digital Art, 2021

Left: Piano Keys, Watercolor on Paper, 10" x 7", 1989

Right: Piano Keys, Digital Art, 2021

This painting was exhibited at GALA 1992.

Normally I recreate my paintings by using the tools in Adobe Illustrator. With this painting, I used Illustrator's "Image Trace" tool to get this result (image at right). It looks more accurate, but with Image Trace I don't achieve the vector drawings that I can reuse and reshape for other artwork.

Underwater, Watercolor on Paper, 21" x 11", 1989

Underwater, Digital Art, 2020

Left: Underwater, Watercolor on Paper, 21" x 11", 1989

Right: Underwater, Digital Art, 2020

This painting was exhibited at Women Artists: A Celebration, Youngstown Ohio YWCA, 1989. For years after that, it was hanging over the fireplace mantel in our house. Unbeknownst to us, there was water seeping through the bricks inside the chimney. One day I noticed spots on the painting and took it out of its frame. The painting had to be destroyed due to the mold or mildew spots on the back of the paper and on the mat and foam core backing. All I had left of the painting was the not so great photo of it at left above. Years later I was so happy to be able to recreate the artwork digitally (right).

Glacier Fish, Watercolor on Paper, 7" x 10", 1989

Glacier Fish, Digital Art, 2017

Left: Glacier Fish, Watercolor on Paper, 10" x 7", 1989

Right: Glacier Fish, Digital Art, 2017

In 2005, I took classes in Adobe Illustrator and learned how to create artwork using the tools in the desktop version of the software. In 2019, I started using Adobe Fresco, a mobile app that allows you to draw with an Apple Pencil on an iPad Pro. This allowed me to create digital artwork sitting in front of the telly, waiting in the doctor's office, and other mobile options. In 2020 Adobe launched Illustrator for iPad, allowing me to create vector drawings and use the vectors across devices. In some cases, I've redone the digital artwork two or more times, following a new learning curve after each upgrade or software launch. Each time, more tools and options have been added and results have been more impressive. I could likely recreate the painting above in half the time it took me to recreate it on my desktop Adobe Illustrator in 2017.

Glacier Fish with Christmas Candies, Digital Art, 2017

Christmas Glacier Fish with Christmas Candies, Digital Art, 2017

Folded Napkins, Watercolor on Paper, 10" x 7", 1989

Folded Napkins, Digital Art, 2018

Left: Folded Napkins, Watercolor on Paper, 10" x 7", 1989

Right: Folded Napkins, Digital Art, 2018

This painting was exhibited at GALA 1991.

Swimming Fish, Watercolor Painting, 7" x 10", 1989

Swimming Fish, Digital Art, 2018

Swimming Fish, version for T-Shirt Print, 2018

Left: Swimming Fish, Watercolor Painting, 10" x 7", 1989

Center: Swimming Fish, Digital Art, 2018

Right: Swimming Fish, Digital Art version for T-Shirt Print, 2018

Clouds, Watercolor on Paper, 4.25" x 2.25", 1989

Clouds, Digital Art, 2021

Left: Clouds, Watercolor on Paper, 4.25" x 2.25", 1989

Right: Clouds, Digital Art, 2021

Broken Cigarette Lighters, Watercolor on Paper, 10" x 7", 1989

Broken Cigarette Lighters, Digital Art, 2021

Left: Broken Cigarette Lighters, Watercolor on Paper, 10" x 7", 1989

Right: Broken Cigarette Lighters, 2021

When I lived in Ottawa, Ontario, I walked everywhere and regularly found interesting metal objects on the sidewalks or in the street. One such object was an old car cigarette lighter that had been yanked out and run over a few times, and the spring coil had stretched out into an interesting spiral. The found object was the inspiration for this painting.

Making Art Nowadays Is Like Decorating A House That's On Fire, Watercolor on Paper, 1989

Making Art Nowadays Is Like Decorating A House That's On Fire, Digital Art, 2025

Making Art Nowadays Is Like Decorating A House That's On Fire, Watercolor on Paper, 10" x 7", 1989

February 2, 1988 - (statement accompanying the draft sketch for the painting): I don't want to do art that shows real life. If I could, I'd do art that changed real life because it's horrible. Doing art in this age is like decorating a house on fire. Taking the time to do art means taking time out from changing things, for me, because my art is more "decorative" than commentary. Now I've turned to art as an escape from real life. That's why there's nothing here for you to find from your daily experience. Just enjoy it, like a moment, and forget it. Art is the last refuge for me from this stinking mess of a world.