Joni McPherson was born in New York State and moved to California in 1962. She is married and lives and paints in Valley Springs, California. From the time she was a child, growing up in rural New York, she has had a keen interest in art and passed the time sketching the thing around her. She started out as a self-taught artist,and now, after years of practice and study under internationally known artists such as Martin Weekly, Bill Blackman, Buck Paulson, Valerie Stewart and others, a cherished dream has come true: She is a professional artist and a gifted teacher of oil painting. Her work has appeared in US Art and Southwest Art magazines. She has now been painting for 35 years.
Children are among Joni's favorite subjects, and she has a ready supply of models from among 22 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren Joni believes that her talent is a gift and that she should give in exchange for what she's been given. In this spirit she has donated much of her work to benefit local hospitals, schools and fire departments. She has also donated many portraits of departed loved ones to grieving families.
Joni loves to share her gift and has become known as a superb teacher. Her method makes learning easy and pleasurable. In most cases, the new student has a beautiful finished painting to take home the first day. Students are astonished at the beauty and quality of their first effort. In fact, many of her students have taken awards at the county fair, some of them winning first place with their very first painting! In 1999, her students took home 15 awards. Other years have seen similar performances from Joni's students.
For Joni, painting is music to the soul. Nothing is more rewarding to Joni, than to have her painting tell the observer a story just by looking at it. Her favorite paintings are the ones she gives to grieving families. Joni loves to paint every day. If she doesn't paint, she considers the day wasted.
