Joanna Gilbert is a modern artist with a knack for turning a photographic image into something unforgettable, with her own brand of digital mastery and artistic talent.

Art is all about subjectivity and Joanna has the ability to transfer the emotion behind an image into something spectacular. Her paintings, though in essence striking and simple, are also full of the complexity of the feeling behind each piece. It is the nature of Joanna’s own deep sense of empathy with the subject at hand that allows emotion to shine through in every one of her works.

Joanna’s technique allows her to take a photograph of a child, a bride and groom, a pet or even a car and transform it into a bright, bold and exciting concept. The pieces look great as home decor, with subjects such as florals and abstracts and her pop art images make a focal point for an office, bar or wall space in a restaurant.

As an artist, she has already had success in the commercial world, providing paintings for large retailers such as House of Fraser and Marks and Spencer and there is much more is in the pipeline. She is currently working on urban art concepts for Sports Direct and several other projects are in the background, including artistic collaboration on an album being released this summer by Halo Records.

Art is ready available as mass produced images in many places but there is nothing like a piece commissioned for you alone and the pleasure of owning something nobody else will ever have. Joanna feels strongly about making original art a commodity that members of the public can and will invest in. Affordable original art is a good investment. Young couples setting up home and young families can buy Joanna’s art knowing that they own one of a kind, which is something Joanna holds dear in today’s throw away culture. She says, “There is nothing like the satisfaction of buying and owning original art. I am very keen on producing paintings which will be owned by the public. I love working with corporates but I also love the idea that someone sits in their lounge or bedroom and can take pleasure in a work of art which is truly theirs.”

Joanna works closely with her clients from the inception of the idea, right up to the piece being finished. Part of her talent is the ability to listen to the client, get a feeling for what they want and make it happen. She starts with the photograph, or several, and is a whizz at digital imagery. She can transform a pleasing photo into a dramatic image and then put that image onto canvass and has a style like no one else. Her pop art portraits capture a smile, a feeling and all with clever use of colour and simple lines.

Another niche market where Joanna has made an impression is providing art for parents and children which is unique and fun. Parents love the way she captures a portrait of a child, a moment, and makes it into something special that the child would be happy to own even as an adult. Most of us, as we get older love our ‘little person’ pictures and Joanna makes these images into stunning portraits, full of joy.

She loves the concept of art as a gift. “It is really special when someone organises a birthday or anniversary gift idea for a partner or a child. Everyone I have painted for has loved receiving something so personal, and it makes a change from the usual gift ideas, it shows some real though has gone into it.”

The gift idea has also really taken off. Being a mother of two, Joanna knows all about images that appeal to children. She has researched the market place and found that it is not easy to find suitable paintings for children’s bedrooms. Due to popular demand, her recent works include paintings of bright characters personalised with the child’s name in colourful letters. Again even as the child grows, these are the kind of gifts that will remain precious and bring a smile to their face as they become adults.

Her pieces are always painted on professional quality canvasses with deep stretch edges, totally negating the need for frames, so that the image is the focus. Each piece is painted with feeling, even though she is now producing more work. “I want the owner of the image to know I understood their thoughts behind the image. I am not doing this to produce something bland. I want every piece to matter”.

Joanna is working on an exhibition of original works to take place in the late summer this year. The works will bestriking and thought provoking concepts. In the meantime, she is building her following of people who appreciate that an original painting is a gift for life.

To commission your own work of art for your home or business, Joanna can be contacted at info@joannagilbert.com.