Joy Thomas' first time

Joy Thomas · 02-05-2006, 02:33 PM

I've been reading these postings for years, but was uncomfortable with computers. Now that I've finished writing a book "The Art of Portrait Drawing" I've had more practice - tho' still pretty awful with computers... but doing it anyway! I'm including a recent self portrait in charcoal. It will appear in my book...(available from North Light Books, May 2006)

Please be gentle with me this is my first time to forum!!!

Anna Wakitsch · 02-05-2006, 02:53 PM

Joy,

Wow, your charcoal is beautiful.

I'm so glad you're going to participate on the forum, and congratulations on your book!

Anna

Joy Thomas · 02-05-2006, 03:22 PM

Thank you Anna, you are my First Forum Friend!

This is a big step for me...I actually have tears in my eyes...(how ridiculous!)

I enjoyed your website and respect your obvious commitment to drawing and painting from life...(that's what it's all about...what a rush...right?)

Joy Thomas

Richard Monro · 02-05-2006, 03:27 PM

Joy,
Welcome aboard. Always a delight to have a new artist on the forum. I envy your charcoal skills. Whenever I touch charcoal, I always seem to make a hash of it.

Joy Thomas · 02-05-2006, 03:49 PM

Thank you Richard... I'm happy to finally be here... I was one of Cynthia's first artists -- having joined A Stroke of Genius in 1996...I have her to thank for helping me overcome my computer anxieties so I could finally join the forum. I hope you will visit my website www.portraitartist.com/thomas

There's no need to envy my skills, I'll be happy to teach them to you! I take a painterly approach to charcoal (even using brushes to move the material around) and have designed a new workshop "The Art of Portrait Drawing" in response to my years of teaching, and based on my book and DVD by the same name. The workshop is about drawing for painters...(because I've taught lots of painting workshops, and have concluded that drawing is the real problem confronting most portraitists, including me!)

It is a wonderful class-- designed for, and in conjunction with, my advanced students.

Mary Sparrow · 02-05-2006, 06:27 PM

Hi Joy! I have admired your work for quite sometime. I look forward to getting your book and hope you post here often!

Thomasin Dewhurst · 12-04-2006, 12:59 PM

Hello Joy

It's nice to meet you. I am newer than you - I joined a few days ago - so it's not so much a welcome as a greeting. I am very much taken with your self-portrait. It's lovely, lovely, lovely! Such real feeling and character, and so wonderfully understated.

I hope to chat to you again soon.

(This is me in the Intruductions page.)