Joanne F Bolen

Joanne Bolen lives and works out of her studio on her farm in Northeast Saskatchewan. Although having always been interested in art and mark making from a young age, in 2003 Bolen started her education in formal art classes at the University of Saskatchewan. Since then, she has taken numerous workshops and self-directed projects.
Exploring a range of ideas about humanity, a question Bolen has pondered how and when we affect our surroundings and the way we perceive our world from the past to the present. Numerous walks amongst areas that were once inhabited by humans is a mainstay in her art making. This is powerful and intimate as she literally walks through the past.
Her main love is oil and acrylic painting on wood and printmaking as these mediums lend the best to what she wishes to show. The first thing that you notice is the colour in her work, the deep, rich tones that evoke a sense of otherworldly feeling. Joanne is influenced by many print makers and painters such as Francisco Goya, Pablo Picasso, Käthe Kollwitz, Albrecht Dürer, and Odd Nerdrum.
Joanne has exhibited in many group shows in Saskatchewan, with her paintings going to private collections.
Always an activist, she is a founding member of Keep Kenderdine, a member of the Melfort Arts Council since 2002 and Chair of the Melfort Arts Council since 2020.