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| Joyce Burkholder |
The hamlet of Wilno is nestled in the beautiful, rocky
hills of the Madawaska valley and is home to Canadian Wilderness Artist Joyce
Burkholder. Many refer to this area as God’s
Country, and for good reason- the hills afford breathtaking views of the
surrounding forests and lakes, and serve as a natural backdrop for the work of
an outdoor artist. Joyce has dedicated the better part of her life to her work,
“it has been, and still is hugely fulfilling to be a full-time professional
painter of the stunningly beautiful landscape of wilderness Ontario.”
Born and raised in Toronto, Joyce attended the Ontario
College of Art and Design (formerly known as OCA), an education that was to be
just the beginning of a lifetime of learning. In her early 20’s, she made the
decision to “get back to the land”, so she headed north, originally settling
west of Wilno in the country near Maynooth where she lived for the next 25
years. It was about this time that Joyce found a cottage style building in
Wilno surrounded by perennial gardens that would make a perfect studio and
gallery. She says that this inspiration came from a visit to Sante Fe some
thirty years prior where she came across Canyon
Road, a stretch of “artist-owned galleries in funky little houses.”
Joyce is an award winning painter known for her
outstanding and passionate landscapes of the Canadian backcountry, notably many
from Algonquin Provincial Park. No fair-weather artist, Joyce goes out to paint
on location in every season with all of the challenges this has to offer, be it
hot days, rain, the bugs and the cold. Whether on foot, canoe or snowshoe, she
heads out into the wild to paint. She has painted on beautiful winter days at
temperatures of -30 - she recalls “the beauty and clarity of light is
astonishing” yet, it gets uncomfortably cold and this can make the paint very
thick and hard to work with. She says that she “loves the rush of arriving at
an inspiring location especially if there is dramatic lighting.” Then the mystical
work begins, as Joyce transforms her vision and tells the exciting story
through the paint; her painting being an emotional reaction to her environment.
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| In Flight |
This emotion, her passion and her primal connection to
nature certainly come through in her art. Painting on location gives her a
fresh and spontaneous edge and allows her to convey that feeling of really
being there. She works with oils, acrylics and watercolours, using many layers
of this glaze giving her images depth.
Adding
another layer to her work, Joyce shares her passion, “it is exciting, dynamic
and inspiring, especially being part of an identified female trio of painters
we branded as “Wild Women” who have all made a similar commitment to portraying
and preserving our natural environment.” She says of the group, “joining
together with Kathy Haycock and Linda Sorensen continues to enrich and expand
my career in ways I never imagined...it is like everything gets multiplied by
three.” The Wild Women co-authored a book, ‘Wild
Women: Painters of the Wilderness’, which Joyce admits stands out as a
great life achievement.
If
you would like to see first-hand these award-winning works of art, check out
the Madawaska Valley Studio Tour this Summer (July 22-23) and Fall (Sept
30-Oct1), or for a more hands on experience, Joyce offers workshops from May to
September. You too can get back to the land and paint on location in our
beautiful Ontario wilderness.
©Janet Jarrell 2017
©Janet Jarrell 2017
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