Joy loves to paint. For over thirty years she has painted Nova Scotia and captured her view of the world on watercolour paper. She is inspired by the white clapboard houses that are sprinkled along the Bay of Fundy shore, old rocking chairs on porches, flowered curtains billowing in a cottage window and children playing on the mud flats.
Joy's studio paintings are developed from on location paintings, photos and actual objects and flowers. Sometimes an idea is thought about for a number of years before a painting is started. The actual painting may take several weeks. In all cases the reality in the painting is Joy's. She happily changes or moves objects within a painting. Often she goes in search of the right bed, quilt or flower garden to create the mood. Strong compositions and a wide range of tonal values making full use of the white of the paper, help to make all of Joy's paintings "sing".
In addition to her studio paintings and when ever possible Joy paints on location. It is an exhilarating challenge to set out, find a subject and complete an entire painting in four to seven hours. These paintings are loose, spontaneous and depict the tides, the lighting and the moment. Besides painting on location throughout the Maritimes, Joy loves the flowers, the houses and the history of England, Italy Spain, France Greece and Peru.