Joan Wolfe

Always wanting to capture the beauty of nature from childhood, retirement finally brought me the opportunity to explore watercolour painting, and capture the world around me through plein air painting.

Rewards include a much deeper appreciation of the wonders of nature, meeting wonderful people with similar values, and adventurous travels on painting excursions to Italy, Ireland, Spain, and multiple trips to the Languedoc area of France.

Plein air painting adds other dimensions to the joy of painting, adding further challenges to the process which then provide growth in skills. The additional sounds of nature further enrich the experience for me. Amazement, excitement, inspiration, and admiration all emerge from the endless variety of results created by our GPG members at the same location, but producing a huge range of styles, media, subjects and interesting perspectives.

The joy of the process, - becoming completely absorbed in the subject, entering a focussed, engaged, “in the moment” state, leaving and totally forgetting the concerns and challenges of everyday life, and “playing” with water and pigment to capture the mystery of nature’s creations - are what capture my passion to paint. The experience is addictive and leaves me refreshed, rejuvenated, and in a state of gratitude to be able to spend time reflecting upon and enjoying the wonders of the world around us.