John Joy

Born in 1925, John Joy was devoted to painting the Canadian landscape directly from life, foregoing the camera to capture light and colour with immediacy and depth. Mentored by Doris McCarthy and Carl Schaefer, he developed a distinctive mastery in watercolour and acrylic. A founding member of the Society of Canadian Artists, he also exhibited with the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour. His legacy endures through works that reveal a profound visual truth.John Joy (1925-2012) was one of a few contemporary artists devoted to the art of on-the-spot painting of the Canadian landscape. In a time when the camera dominates as the intermediary between the subject and the artist, Joy did away with this unnecessary filter. The subtle variations in light within his watercolours and acrylics are a direct result of this method of working. No camera could interpret the translucency of sky and snow with the depth of perception that Joy displays in his art. The same is true of his tremendous sense of colour. The kind of visual truth that John Joy presents in his work can only be achieved by direct contact with nature and its studious contemplation.

This method of working was favoured by both of his renowned early mentors, Doris McCarthy and Carl Schaefer. John Joy was a founding member of the Society of Canadian Artists and was a member of the Toronto Arts and Letters Club. He has also exhibited with the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour. His work can be found in numerous private collections throughout Canada and Europe.