Artist Bio:

Joan Tarbell-Plato began her love of art in childhood on the shores of Lake Ontario. After a successful Computer Science career, she dove into the art world studying painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), with several internationally known artists and studied printmaking at the University of Maryland at College Park.

She is a juried member of the International Society of Experimental Artists (ISEA), the Baltimore Watercolor Society (BWS) and the National League of American Pen Women (NLAPW) and has won numerous first place awards for her paintings. For more than 20 years her works have been shown in solo and group exhibits in Baltimore, Frederick, Columbia, Ellicott City, Frostburg and in Washington D.C., Virginia and Florida. Her art is held in both private and corporate collections.

Artist Statement:

Plato’s paintings evolve rich in color and energy. She states, “In my paintings I want to express the freedom of play, using mainly color, texture, shape and line, to reflect a celebration of life and new worlds.” She begins each piece freely using flow acrylics, then applies layers of media that may include collaged photography, imprinted natural elements and material patterns. She also combines drawing and painting as the layers evolve. This multimedia layered approach is essential to her, as she feels it truly reflects our daily thinking and actions. She feels it is important to work in your own unknown territory in order to meet your hidden truths. Plato works on multiple surfaces to include board, canvas and yupo paper. A poet and bookmaker, she oftentimes incorporates ideas from those worlds into her wide world of painting.