JOANNA TURLEJ is a contemporary, visual artist. She graduated from OCAD University in Toronto, ON. with honours degree in art and design and George A. Reid Award of Excellence. During her career, she has been exploring different media, from tapestry weaving, silk painting, watercolours, acrylics, collage and mixed media to charcoal drawing.

Joanna spent her formative years in Zakopane, a small resort town in mountainous region of southern Poland. This was where the seeds of creativity were planted. She began drawing and painting under the guidance of her father, who was an artist and an art professor with various art schools.

Four years at OCAD University provided Joanna with even more solid art foundations, re-enforced later by workshops with artists who influenced her artistic development in many ways.

She took workshops with Skip Lawrence and Christopher Schink, contemporary watercolour, oil and acrylic artists; Peter Kolisnyk, known for his experimental and thought-provoking art; Doug Mays, known for his loose and impressionistic style in watercolour; Linda Kemp, known for her negative painting; Alvaro Castagnet, a superb and inspiring watercolour artist; Steve Rose, an artist and and educator focused on non-objective painting, life drawing and printmaking; Kim Lee Kho, working in drawing, painting, photo-based mixed media, a great artist and a great teacher and John Leonard, a renown artist, an inspiring educator and thought-provoking teacher.

Joanna continues to explore different techniques in her art. Other note-worthy modern artists that made a great impression on her artistic development are Milton Avery, a superb colourist, Mark Rothko with his incredible colour combinations and Andrew Wyeth with his overwhelming ability to capture moments in time with exquisite detail, evoking a nostalgic, quiet reflection of natural beauty and rustic grace.

Click here for a listing of selected exhibitions, commisions and private collections.