Joyce Hopwood-Knight lives at Kyneton, Victoria – a historic country town near Bendigo. She cares full-time for her elderly mother. Previously she farmed at Broadford in Victoria, breeding thoroughbred horses and cattle.
Only a short time ago, purely by chance, Joyce met local artist Ray Ellis and was invited to view his studio. She was amazed at the quality of his work. He informed her that he conducted a working studio, and taught a number of local students at weekends.
Prior to this, Joyce had never had any formal training of any sort in the arts. She decided there and then that she would take advantage of the opportunity, and become a student.
“I guess that was the start of a wonderful adventure for me!” she says.
“I became totally engrossed with painting and embraced every aspect of my tuition, to the point where I found that painting only at weekends was not enough, and I wanted more personal attention to my training. I approached my tutor and inquired whether I could do more, and eventually he took me on as a fulltime student – which allowed me to spend much more time in the studio.”
Ray Ellis is a traditionalist landscape artist who has painted for many years. He has taught this talented lady the basics of painting – such as composition, tonal application, perspective and the application of colour; and helped her to develop the ability to view her subjects with a specific artistic approach.
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