1. Early years

Joyce, fine-artist painter was born of a Lithuanian-Norwegian artist mother and of a Texan-American script-writer/inventor, on the Mediterranean coast of France, in a town abounding with yellow flowered and scented mimosa trees. A year later, she was in Paris, where her half-brother was born. She exhibited her first artwork under glass and frame, shortly after, at the age of 4, while her mother graduated with a fine art degree from the 'Beaux-Arts Academy' of Paris after 7 years of fruitful discoveries.

At the age of 13, one of her large black and white ink on card works gathered considerable success for a show at the junior high school which she was attending in Los Angeles, California, when living with her father for a year. Back in the south of France, numerous arts and crafts workshops with friends staying over for the week-ends and long profusely creative evenings and afternoons after school, at the drawing desk, made for a very formative artistic foundation. A large provision of time, space and arts materials were always plentifully supplied to her by her mother, who would sit at a gouache or oil painting of luscious colours and naturalistic content when her other completed tasks and self-directed duties allowed. The only rule which Joyce has been requested by Susan to keep, during these early years of development, were never to use a ruler, or an eraser. In some circles, and families, freedom is paramount, and the vibrancy of an individual’s own intrinsic qualities is as precious as the colours of those on the wings of a butterfly, never to be touched.

2. London

At 17, as her mother had done when leaving her adoptive parents, her uncle and his sister, her aunt, in Norway, to travel to Paris and there, study art, Joyce began a relationship with London which was to last to this day. Having lived there for the longest part of her life, she now considers herself to be a Londoner.

In the mid-eighties, she established her first studio in Bonnington Square (Vauxhall, South London), a squatted neighbourhood and typical urban creative hub populated by artists of all disciplines, many of whom have found recognition throughout the years, be it in the fields of music, dance, litterature, acting and filmmaking, sculpture, painting and more. There, she set out to explore the wonders of black and white photography, in an abstracted manner, those of regular life-drawing sessions and sculpting with clay and metal at Morley College, Southwark, while pursuing her own painting and drawing, producing her first oil painting.

Together with a few other artists working with wood and straw, she created a life-size horse and standing human figure in wood at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. After having traveled to Africa in 1988, and stayed again in France for a year, she returned to 'Bonnington Square', and found a gem of a companion in Dallas, who had come to this part of the world after having worked on a film with one of Joyce' s long time 'Bonnington Squarian' friends, Ray. Dallas and Joyce were to marry within 11 days, and commence on a 5 year partnership during which numerous exhibitions of her work, in London and Paris, as well as Dallas' productions of musical nights, short films and video clips intermingled with joyous parties and a shared passion for art and culture.

Free-lancing as a cell-painter in animation for numerous animation studios provided substantial extra funding, during a number of years (and free post-production 'left-over' animation acrylics of outstanding quality before a new spite of visual discoveries and creations, this time using specialist decorative techniques, digital imaging and graphic design. Her muse was now a very talented and seductive Elvis Country and Pop singer, who encouraged her along a late life nine years' journey of part-time and full-time study culminating in an MA in Enterprise and Management for the Creative Arts which she graduated from at the London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London.

Joyce’s practice is presently based at her fine-art studio in an Edwardian building of outstanding architectural beauty which is part of the Deptford Arts Network, as well as in her digital studio and research desk/office at home within the arms of an ochre stone arch, in a beautiful South London converted church.

Similarly to the sculptor Edith Garcia, writing for 'Creative Week' in October 2006, she believes that: 

'sustaining a successful studio comes down to discipline. You have to treat everything you do as if you were working in a large organisation,'

and, although she has her own percentages and prioritizes design over administrative tasks:

'that it’s about 70% administrative and 30% art making (…) ensuring that (she) works regular hours'.

Artist Stella Vine talks of a similar approach to running her practice, as she explains in an interview by Karl Mansfield in the 28 November 2005 issue of The Independent:

'If I weren’t talking to you right now I' d be…
painting, going to the gym or doing office stuff – trying to keep functioning as an artist.'

Her years at the University of the Arts, at the LCC, where she gathered skills parallel to those of Art, Digital Media and Printing, as well as Enterprise for the Creative Arts, have extended the scope to her practice. Added to her previous experiences in Fine-Art, Illustration, Muralism, Animation, Artistic Interior Decoration and Set-Design, a more measured and pragmatic approach is now also allowing her to grow into a more professional and empowered creative. Beyond the 'Bonnington Squarian' spirited exhibiting artist of the 90's, best described by a few words from Tracy Emin, in her column for "The Independent" newspaper (summer 2006): 

'… a wild child, a maverick, an enfant terrible, a strong opiniated woman, immune from judgement!...