Artist Statement

Joyce DeFord’s artwork has many roots. Since she can first remember, she has always wanted to be an artist, from her first portrait of her mother at age two. She is excited to have reached a point in her life where she can focus on her career as professional artist. 

DeFord considers herself mostly self-taught. A large collection of art books have been her biggest influences. One influence has been the watercolor works of Jeanne Dobie and her book “Making Colors Sing.” Dobie’s book helped DeFord learn how to control the medium and how to “make the watercolor work for me instead of against me.” Another artist who has inspired DeFord is western watercolorist Nelson Boren. “His use of color and skill at capturing realism have affected the way I look at things.” 

DeFord uses various time-honored techniques, including basing the composition on a transparent under-painting then adding colors to enhance forms and shadows. If using an opaque medium (acrylic or oil), she begins with a complimentary color under-painting and then adds local color. She sees art as a challenge; each painting is a new experience. To evolve as an artist, she often sets a challenge for herself and then looks for materials and subjects to fill that challenge. The test is to see if she can really do it, and to produce a work she is proud to show.

DeFord’s family is scattered throughout the western states. In traveling to visit her relatives, DeFord and her husband Carl often travel the back roads. Getting off the beaten path has opened up a new world of subject matter for DeFord’s work. “My work tells a different story to everyone. A picture of an abandoned old tractor at the side of a field reminds one person of their grandpa’s farm and another of their first job working in the fields.” By sharing beauty through her paintings, DeFord connects with others. She believes that if she can show a different world to someone with her art, then she shares with them a new experience.

DeFord feels that seeing with another’s eyes can open a new world. She experiences these opportunities either by sharing her own work or observing another artist’s technique. DeFord loves to participate in Plein Air painting sessions with fellow artists. “I am constantly learning from my peers. I enjoy the socialization and trading of information.”

Another person who has influenced this period of Deford’s work is her husband Carl. “He has been encouraging me to take my painting seriously and focus on it as a priority instead of a past-time. He has taken up photography to keep himself occupied while I am painting. Some of the things that he has learned as a beginning photographer have reminded me what is truly important in painting – crucial concepts such as providing a new perspective on what could be an ordinary composition. And light is critical; without lighting, nothing works.”

While DeFord’s work has many influences, the key elements to all her work are sharing the experience and taking time to enjoy the beauty of life in the West.