Joy Harris
Joy’s stunning paintings offer a contemporary twist on a traditional subject and are an inspirational reflection of her lifestyle. Her family has horses and dogs and enjoys equestrian sports, and these are the things which inform her work. Her style is firmly rooted in the 21st century and is highly individual, making her stand out from other artists painting in a similar genre. Her horse and hound paintings are very loose in composition, yet with high concentration placed on the eyes. She seeks to depict movement even if the subject is stationary, as with any living thing there is always motion.
Joy favours oil paint over other mediums due to its earthiness of pigments and versatility. She achieves an unusual texture and distinctive texture in each piece by layering the paint in thick swathes then using thinners and letting it run down the canvas to create movement. When painting her monochrome work she uses charcoal and oil pastel alongside the oil paint and blends with her fingers as well as the brush – this she says can sometimes create “surprising textures and detail”.
Over the years Joy has built up some strong partnerships with photographers who she works with when choosing her material. She is primarily self taught and her work has evolved from pet portraits in her early twenties to her signature “drippy hounds” and large monochrome equine studies. These strike a chord with people who have traditional values but contemporary tastes.
Joy has been awarded the Polo Quarterly Prize and the Banstead Manor Stud Prize for the Best Sporting Painting through the Society of Equestrian Artists. She has also been the official Artist for Olympia Horse Show. Alongside successful solo exhibitions in the UK, she has exhibited at High Goal Polo matches, Badminton and Burghley Horse Trials, the French Game Fair in Chambord and annually at the Society of Equestrian Artists Exhibitions in London. She has work in private collections both here and abroad with some notable individuals, as well as in various boutique Hotels in the Cotswolds.
Joy favours oil paint over other mediums due to its earthiness of pigments and versatility. She achieves an unusual texture and distinctive texture in each piece by layering the paint in thick swathes then using thinners and letting it run down the canvas to create movement. When painting her monochrome work she uses charcoal and oil pastel alongside the oil paint and blends with her fingers as well as the brush – this she says can sometimes create “surprising textures and detail”.
Over the years Joy has built up some strong partnerships with photographers who she works with when choosing her material. She is primarily self taught and her work has evolved from pet portraits in her early twenties to her signature “drippy hounds” and large monochrome equine studies. These strike a chord with people who have traditional values but contemporary tastes.
Joy has been awarded the Polo Quarterly Prize and the Banstead Manor Stud Prize for the Best Sporting Painting through the Society of Equestrian Artists. She has also been the official Artist for Olympia Horse Show. Alongside successful solo exhibitions in the UK, she has exhibited at High Goal Polo matches, Badminton and Burghley Horse Trials, the French Game Fair in Chambord and annually at the Society of Equestrian Artists Exhibitions in London. She has work in private collections both here and abroad with some notable individuals, as well as in various boutique Hotels in the Cotswolds.