Fused with soft tone, spatial atmospheres, reflected light and shimmering pearlescence, Joseph’s paintings are “immersive and suggestive, fluxing and momentary.” ¹

Using the form of the cherry blossom as a visual and conceptual conduit, she explores “fleeting subliminal essences, the patterns and structure inherent in nature and spring in particular. Her paintings speak of the human experience of seasonal nature without the artifice and constraint. This experience is multi-faceted: aesthetic harmonies arise, paralleled by the emotion of being inside the subject. Feelings of unity with nature are induced, connecting the viewer with the scene in a way in which a representational landscape could not. These works capture the essence of blossoms, not the direct reality of them.” ²

Joseph’s painting process incorporates masking and resist techniques, layered acrylic washes, and the use of acrylic gel mediums to build complex, multi-layered surfaces. Paint is allowed to pool and flow between masked areas, contributing to an organic sense of form and movement. The resulting imagery is both revealed and concealed, creating a visual ambiguity that echoes the layered and shifting nature of perception. “An image is presented and simultaneously obscured creating a multi-stability very much like the reality of our world. The competing layers and materiality of the surface create multiple options for perceptual focus as both the viewer and light pass across that surface.” ³