About the Artist

“The greatest pleasure for me as an artist is the capture of the present moment, a little piece of Now.” ~Joan Vienot

The capture of light on a subject is the thrill of painting from life for Joan Vienot. Living just minutes from Acadia National Park in Maine, she finds infinite inspiration for her current motif, the rocky coastline.

Joan taught art in a public high school for three years in her home state of Colorado after attaining a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art at the University of Northern Colorado. In Northwest Florida Joan was active in her local arts community, serving on the Board of Directors of the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County from 2011 to 2017. She also was the volunteer coordinator for the Emerald Coast Plein Air Painters from 2015 until 2022. From 2016 to 2021 Joan was involved with the Forgotten Coast en Plein Air, a 10-day invitational plein air painters event in Northwest Florida. She was named a Florida’s Finest Plein Air Ambassador for the event in 2016, 2019, and 2021, tasked with teaching novice plein air artists in 2-hour one-on-one lessons. She was awarded the Artist Residency for the event in 2019. In 2021 and 2022 she served on the steering committee for the conference Plein Air South

About her regular practice of plein air painting and drawing or painting live models, Joan says, “Painting or drawing from life requires intense focus and present moment awareness in order to interpret a scene before the light changes radically or before the model moves. I try to capture that moment.” 

Joan Vienot Fine Artist | Shooting St. George Island, Machu Picchu, Scuba Diving, Racing SUP Stand Up Paddleboard, Backpacking, Paddling Tucker Bayou

Recent Awards & Recognition

Selected as Florida’s Finest Plein Air Ambassador, Forgotten Coast en Plein Air, Apalachicola and Port St. Joe, Florida, 2021, 2019, and 2016.

J.Leon Gallery, Miramar Beach, FL, October 2020 – December 2021. AKA Miramar Beach Creative Campus.

Sea & Sky Exhibit, Anne Hunter Galleries, Seaside, FL, March – May, 2020.

Awarded Artist Residency, Forgotten Coast en Plein Air, Port St. Joe, FL, 2019.

Foster Gallery at Ruskin Place in Seaside, FL, Winter Quarter, 2018-2019.

View more… »

Listen to an Interview

Claire Bannerman interviews Joan on SUP Radio Show, 10-25-13

SUP Radio Show: Your Global Art Showcase with Claire Bannerman

On the Calendar

Mid-October 2022: Move to Trenton, Maine, to paint the rocky coastline near Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.


INSIGHT: Discover Joan’s creative process on her blog.