Joni McPherson was born in New York State and moved to California in 1962. She
is married and lives and paints in Valley Springs, California. From the time she
was a child, growing up in rural New York, she has had a keen interest in art and
passed the time sketching the thing around her. She started out as a self-taught
artist,and now, after years of practice and study under internationally known
artists such as Martin Weekly, Bill Blackman, Buck Paulson, Valerie Stewart and
others, a cherished dream has come true: She is a professional artist and a
gifted teacher of oil painting. Her work has appeared in US Art and Southwest Art
magazines. She has now been painting for 38 years.
Children are among Joni's favorite subjects, and she has a ready supply of
models from among 22 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren Joni believes that
her talent is a gift and that she should give in exchange for what she's been
given. In this spirit she has donated much of her work to benefit local
hospitals, schools and fire departments. She has also donated many portraits of
departed loved ones to grieving families.
Joni loves to share her gift and has become known as a superb teacher. Her method
makes learning easy and pleasurable. In most cases, the new student has a
beautiful finished painting to take home the first day. Students are astonished
at the beauty and quality of their first effort. In fact, many of her students
have taken awards at the county fair, some of them winning first place with their
very first painting! In 1999, her students took home 15 awards. Other years have
seen similar performances from Joni's students.
For Joni, painting is music to the soul. Nothing is more rewarding to Joni, than
to have her painting tell the observer a story just by looking at it. Her
favorite paintings are the ones she gives to grieving families. Joni loves to
paint every day. If she doesn't paint, she considers the day wasted.
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