Conversations with Joanna Paola

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joanna Paola.

Hi Joanna, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My entire life has revolved around art. As a young child, I drew on everything, no surface was ever safe. When it was time to choose a career, graphic design was at the top of my list as a creative. For 20 years I worked in the world of design, running my own agency for the last 10. The work was fun, exciting and challenging. I had a lot of great clients and we worked on incredible projects together, but I always wanted to learn how to paint like a professional. Any free time I had was spent at art shows, museums and galleries, marveling at everyone else’s art and wondering if I could ever do that myself. So I slowly began taking classes here and there.

Along with that, I began to paint every day after the long work hours, in between projects and on the weekends, until I felt comfortable with the medium. It was becoming more and more clear to me that it was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life, when “the rest of my life” stage started. Fortunately, I don’t have much patience for waiting around for things to happen, so I decided it was a good time as any to start right away. In 2021, I decided to take the leap and rent my very first art studio. Although the timing coincided with the pandemic and many people were re-evaluating their lives and careers, this decision was actually a long time in the making for me. Finally, I was able to pursue the thing I had been setting aside for years, and it was a huge relief to have the space to paint freely and not track paint everywhere around the house!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Leaving a 20 years of career to start a new one in the art world is a bit wild when you think about it and there’s plenty of uncertainty to go along with it. But, I knew waiting around for the perfect time would never come so I went for it. Then came the challenge of finding a reasonably affordable workspace in Los Angeles. Needless to say, I found one and a lot of my work during that time focused around fear, uncertainty, frustration and ultimately, resolution.
Showing up at the studio every day even when ideas don’t seem to flow to can also be very challenging. For that, I am constantly working on my mindset. My mindset practice consists of giving myself the time and patience to evolve. Trusting that I will get to the other side, and won’t stay in the ugly middle for too long – simply taking it step by step. Some days the struggle is real, so I surround myself with a community of creatives who both encourage and inspire me.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an artist based in Los Angeles, California. My medium of choice is oil painting and have also recently been exploring charcoals. My latest work focuses on the figure and explores the feelings of fear as a catalyst for change and incorporates elements of symbolism, mystery and transcendence. The thing I am most proud of at this time is giving myself the time and space to explore a career in art.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I’ll start with what I like least: heavy traffic, high rents, and the rising cost of avocado toast?!

And now the good stuff: There is so much to love about our city that I would sound like an advertisement if I mentioned everything! And though this has been mentioned so many times before, I’d have to go with the diversity. The diversity in our city is amazing, and with it comes great food, great art and great music. It’s almost hard to be bored in this city. Even the weather conspires for us to enjoy ourselves at any given time. In particular, I love the various hikes all around LA and the beach, always the beach.

Contact Info:

• Website: Joannapaolaart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joannapaolaart
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/thejoannapaola

Image Credits
Ian Honeyman