Leigh Karen Joyce b.1959
As Marc Chagall once noted:
"People have reproached me for putting poetry into my pictures...but show me a single great work which does not have its portion of poetry."
Leigh Karen Joyce paintings remind us of childhood joy, romance and love; there are no dark spaces in Leigh’s world, it’s a place where children dance across mountains of flowers and fly through the evenings sky with their pets trailing behind them. Adventures and spontaneity abound and magic fills the air.
Leigh’s work has a naivety, as seen through the eyes of a child and it makes us recall how the world once appeared. Animals are paramount, and you can be sure to discover exotic birds in lush trees gazing upon us with wise eyes and watching the comings and goings of the world. Ants and lady beetles that often go un-noticed are seen enjoying life, and of course what is a world without dogs and oversized cats floating across the canvas.
Poetry and music pervades in Leigh’s subject matter, and her midnight concerto series are well loved and collected. They remind us that the “world is a magical one, which we so often forget to embrace.”
“It is easy to find ourselves getting caught up in the mundane of day to day existence and complaints of life and I want people to have a little reminder of what a precious gift life is. Through my art I remind people of the love and wonder of life; not only in the beauty of children and nature, but in the music and dance that overflows in my paintings.”
Leigh uses bold colours and detailed etching to create paintings that are certain to make you smile; she draws inspiration from her love of children, flowers, birds and all things that move her. Each character in Leigh’s paintings are given a kiss good-bye and sent on their way.
Families in Europe and the U.S. collect Leigh’s paintings and the dream to have her art treasured in homes all over the world has come true many times over.
Exhibitions-
2003, By the Sea, Noosa, Queensland
2004, Floating through life, Studio Six, Richmond, Melbourne, Australia
2005, Indonesia Art Viewing, group exhibition, Jakarta, Indonesia
2007, Wall to Wall Women NBCF, Nexus Modern Art, Albert Park, Melbourne.
Collections-
Leigh’s paintings are already in collections in the U.K., U.S.A., France and Spain.
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