Artist Bio
After retiring from a successful career in public relations, Joan Witte resumed her oil painting in 2019 and has recently added encaustic to her creative mix. Now, instead of using words to tell stories, she uses the visual arts to create narratives about two of her favorite passions, mental health and spirituality. Sometimes, Witte partners her art with words/essays.
Witte is heavily influenced by her rural Michigan upbringing, most of her work uses nature as a backdrop for her message. As a young woman her exposure to Mark Rothko, Georgia O’Keefe, Monet, and Mother Nature—inspired a love for color.
She is one of the resident artists at the Plymouth Artist Collective in Plymouth, Michigan. Her early art training was at community colleges. She continues to pursue her education today at the College for Creative Studies, art centers, and workshops.
Juried Shows
• June 2023, Hot Days Cool Art Exhibit & Sale, PARC Art Gallery, Plymouth, MI
• April 2023, Seeds of Change | Resilience | Show hosted in partnership with Women's Caucus for Art Michigan and the 22 North Gallery in Ypsilanti, Michigan
• May 2022, Looking for the Light, Galerie Camille, Detroit, MI
• June 2022, Black Box Gallery, Dearborn, MI
• October 2021, Huron River Artist Collective Fall Show, Malletts Creek Branch Library, Ann Arbor, MI
• November 2021, Three Cities Art Club 9th Annual Juried Exhibit 2021-2022, Westland City Hall, MI