Joanne Taylor has lived in Knysna since 1989 after working for several years in the advertising world in Johannesburg. There she worked primarily as a freelance airbrush illustrator for mostly medical agencies. She began illustrating maps for the Garden Route and participating in small local exhibitions whilst also selling quirky watercolour paintings through the Strydom Gallery in George. In 2000 she was voted by her peers as Southern Cape Artist of the Year.
In late 2000 Joanne travelled to Ireland and was offered a five year stint painting for the Killarney Gallery in county Derry. She also painted for The Green Gallery in Dublin. Her subjects were humorous cheeky women and imaginative visual narratives influenced by Carl Jung.
In 2006 Joanne returned to Knysna where she assisted in starting up a small home screen printing studio for her son and together with her daughter-in-law they started producing environmentally friendly fabric apparel for their Harkerville Market stall.
In 2016 she travelled to Vancouver, Canada where she spent much time inline skating in the park and painting for various customers, exhibiting for a short time at The Pacific Arts Market. Just before lock downs she and her daughter started up an online Etsy shop selling modern hand-embroidery kits with simple modern illustrations. She also opened an online shop with Spoonflower, which sells digital surface pattern design, and with Creative Market for which she makes original fonts, mock ups and illustrations. She works in Photoshop, Illustrator, Procreate and Affinity.
Joanne and her daughter returned to Knysna in 2023 and she is slowly soaking up the local creative vibes again, designing fabric patterns, playing with monoprint, watercolour and acrylic whilst being challenged with growing vegetables, baking bread and sewing products for The Knysna Foundation shop.
“I like silence, and very sharp knives.”
