ABOUT JOYCE AUTERI

When I was a toddler living in Brooklyn, my mom would sit me on the floor with scrap paper and crayons and “I’d keep myself busy for hours”, she’d say. When I was a bit older, I’d make things out of paper, like a pocketbook for my mom, or I’d be in our basement painting. Making a mess, really, because I had no idea about color theory. Still, I was having lots of fun. 

When I was 9 years old my mom took me to oil painting classes at the home of Ann Basilico. I will never forget that woman’s name, my first mentor, and I will always be so grateful to my mom, single at the time, who sacrificed things she likely wanted to buy for herself in order to afford those classes for me. 

As the years passed, I dabbled in many mediums, e.g., oils, acrylics, watercolors, alcohol inks, charcoal drawings with both white and black charcoal, scratchboard, ceramics, assemblage, porcelain dolls, paper dolls, carved eggs, Washi eggs.

Not long ago, I played with something I just had to try: broken glass. I had come across some images of glass mosaics on flat surfaces and thought, “What if I tried that on a 3-D object on, say, a mannequin?” Wa-la! Joyce’s first glassed mannequin was born. I gave birth to several of them.

But I seem to always return to oils. The smell takes me back to Brooklyn, to my basement and Ann Basilico’s basement where I would paint. Good memories. I love how oils blend and flow. I love the feel of my brush on the canvas. Having finally learned how, I love mixing the colors to arrive at the exact color I need. Believe it or not, I even love cleaning my brushes! Yes, I know - that’s kinda’ weird, right? But I’m an artist. I’m entitled to be weird and that’s all right by me. :)

Today, I’m painting a series I call ‘Sottigliezza dell’Emozione’ or ‘Subtlety of Emotion’. I paint them in a sort of Grisaille style, using varying shades of black and white with just a bit of color. A collector of mine referred to them as ‘Different Shades of a Woman’, depicting the complexity of women. I like that!

Now that I'm officially eligible for the Senior Menu at Denny's (ha!), I’m also painting a series I call ‘Rusty Things’, i.e., everyday objects in their vintage or rustic state, using a variety of intense colors. Old and worn, they are, yet still.....beautiful? Hmmmm….

Thank you for reading my story.