Joan Gundersen

medium: painting

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Boy and Bluff 2014 Painting	Golden Field 2017 Painting	River Heron 2017 Painting
Misty Autumn View 2015 Painting	Winona View 2014 Painting	Misty River 2015 Painting
Standing Rock 2017 Painting	Summer Nest 2017 Painting	Arizona Sky 2018 Painting

Contact information
3318 Ebner Coulee
La Crosse, WI 54601
Phone Number: 608-784-7362
Email Address: joaniegundersen@gmail.com
Web site: joanalexandra.weebly.com

Artist statement
I live in an area of great natural beauty. The landscape of Southwest Wisconsin, an unglaciated terrain which includes rolling hills, farmland and the Mississippi River, and its bluffs inspired a series of oil paintings about the coulee region. These paintings include views in all seasons with their changing light and atmospheric perspective. My goal is to capture the life force and mood that is the experience of a place. Many of these paintings are based on locations that are the views I see as I walk on the 80 acres of land that surround my Wisconsin home. It is full of family history as we are the third generation of family to reside here. This land speaks of the past with its old barns, sheds, farmhouses, ridges and river views. I hope to express something of this connection in my paintings of the land.

Painting on location is ideal because it allows for the best possible conditions to capture the essence of a scene. I want to keep a fresh response of a place, so I begin with smaller studies in Plein aire. I use these studies to create a larger piece. I engage the language of emotive color, light, curvilinear lines and thicker paint to interpret the expressive vision of the land and tell the truth of a place.

Biography
Joan Alexandra Gundersen has had paintings and mono-prints included in seven student shows. Other resume highlights include:

--Two women senior art show,January 1988
--work published in Touchstone Magazine
--Assistant to regional art center exhibit director/spring 2000 through 2002
--Enrolled at San Francisco Academy of Art/Graduate Fine Art classes towards M.F.A.
--Owner/Exhibitor of White Moth Gallery, La Crosse, Wis.

Exhibits
--muse 360 art exhibits in Washington D.C., spring 1992, 1994, 1995
--One-woman show at Jule's, La Crosse, Wis., 1995
--Installation at River Road Studio/La Crescent, Minn., 1996
--Odin Gallery Group show, 1997
--Pump House Regional Arts Center fundraiser shows, 1996-2000
--"Exploring the Icon" show, Littleton, Colo.
--Solo show/retrospect, Mustard Creek Gallery
--Represented by Nordeen Design Gallery, La Crosse

Other Art-related Experience
--Taught art classes at S.O.T.A. elementary school and Pump House, La Crosse, Wis.
--Portrait studio with P. Baumgartner
--Icon painting workshops with Nina Boroff/P. Zimmerman
--Pastel Study with Emmet Johns, Door County, Wis.
--Winter Studio with Pat Dobrinska
--C.I.V.A member with icon focus/catalogue 2003
--Award Winner/Art Calendar Magazine Bumper Sticker Contest
--Great River Folk Festival Art Judge, 2002
--River Front Festival Art Judge, 2003
--Fundraising events with art: Waldorf School and Gundersen Lutheran Clinic
--Active member of Odin artists and Eastbank artists