The journey of artist Jo Dounis is one of perseverance, and never losing sight of something that brings joy and satisfaction. An abstract artist with a deep love for colour, her road to becoming a working artist wasn’t a straight one, but after dedicating most of her free time to painting later on in life, there was no turning back.

Born in Malta, Jo is the daughter of an architect and admits that, as a child, she loved watching her father work, back when computers didn’t exist and he did everything by hand. “I especially loved it when he did a watercolour and pen painting of a building he was working on, which he would then present to whoever had commissioned him. I started drawing and colouring as soon as I could hold a pencil.”

Jo explains that her father was a great influence on her love for art and architecture. While she studied art at school, she left Malta at the age of 18 to work in Greece and Italy, and a few years later, she met and married her Greek husband, making Greece her home for 13 years, followed by five years living in Naples. “I have two children, one born in Naples and one in Athens, and during that period of my life, I continued drawing and painting for my own pleasure as well as designing children’s clothing.”

Jo returned to Malta with her two then young children after 18 years away. “Being a single mother was very difficult and the responsibility of raising two young children on my own forced me to get a full-time job. I had no time to paint but my creativity and love for colour, light and form was expressed through interior and furniture design, which I studied as soon as my children were older and continued by pursuing it professionally.”

Some years ago, Jo purchased a seafront home with a glass façade that showed off the best open sea and sky views. “I decided to keep my furniture as neutral as possible, opting to fill my walls with art which would reflect my passion for colour, light and organic form,” she explains.

“When I didn’t find what I was looking for in the local art community, I decided to experiment myself and express physically what I was seeing in my mind’s eye. After spending most of my free time covered in paint, my desire to express myself through art was rekindled and there was no stopping me. My art started to attract attention and interest, and my paintings started to sell.”

Describing her present work and style, Jo says it is “ethereal, fluid and organic, with colour and light being the primary essences. I also love to use negative space in some of my paintings. Even though I can appreciate all art genres, I have to admit that I was always drawn to abstract or semi-abstract art which focused more on the clever use of colour.”

Indeed, Jo sums up her passion for colour in a lovely way, saying “if I could, I would paint over everything which is ugly in our world with beautiful colour. I would love to bring colour into the lives of as many people as s possible. For me, it is the most therapeutic thing in the world.”

Surrounded by colour, the artist finds inspiration from what she sees at home or, as an avid traveller, on her trips to near and distant corners of the world, “and which have had some form of impact on me by inciting strong emotions or feelings, whether they come from nature or human fabrication.”

Nature is a central source of inspiration for Jo – one day it could be a lovely garden or a landscape, and on another, it could be a beautiful sky, constellations, or a beach. “But it’s not only nature – even things that are man-made and still beautiful can be inspiring. Anything where the colours almost take my breath away. I don’t try and reproduce the scene which I see. I use the colours or similar colours and turn them into something which speaks to me. Sometimes, I’ll take photos and note the colours, and then use them in my next piece.”

Her fascination with the way different colours blend, flow and interact together, creating organic forms and designs, led her to use a fluid art technique as a base to create abstract, semi-abstract or figurative art on canvas or various non-porous surfaces, such as glass, plexiglass or board.

Given the sheer fluidity of her work, is there any planning involved with the creation of a new piece? “There is always ‘planning’ involved, even though the finished piece may not turn out to be what I first envisioned. First, I decide on the background, then I choose the colours which I want to work with. I will also plan the form which I want to project in the painting.”

She begins by pouring the paint onto the chosen surface and pushing it around with various tools. “Sometimes it takes many additional layers and brushwork to get to something that I’m happy with. For instance, in the chromatic series, as the name implies, it was about showcasing groups of colours inspired by different things. In fact, the name of each piece is indicative of what inspired me.”

Jo achieves her stunning paintings using predominantly acrylic paints, “because they are more forgiving than other media. If I’m not happy with the way a piece is progressing, I can add more layers to get it to where I want to.”

Being an interior designer and an artist, I ask Jo whether her two professions ever collide. In fact, she shares, they happen to be a perfect marriage. “Since colour and light are both an integral part of interior design, I would say that each one complements the other. When I do an interior, I often think of a painting which would look amazing in that particular space, and sometimes in my art, I’m inspired by an element in an interior design project which I am doing or have done in the past.”

As an abstract artist, Jo hails from a genre of art that is not as widely valued or understood as those genres closer in style to realism. Asked whether she thinks there is an appreciation for abstract art in Malta, she says “this is purely my opinion, but I don’t think abstract art is as prolific in Malta as it is overseas and maybe, this is an indication of what the majority of local collectors are after.”

“Not everyone appreciates abstract art,” she continues. “Many people feel that they don’t understand it because it doesn’t depict something familiar, so they play it safe and opt for something which they can relate to. I believe that abstract art gives you the freedom to interpret it as you wish. It allows your emotions to rule, rather than your head.”

Sharing her most recent highlights, Jo is particularly pleased by her solo exhibition held at the end of last year. “Despite COVID-19 restrictions and bad weather, it went very well and opened up new opportunities for me,” she explains.

“My greatest challenge has been to make a name for myself in a relatively short space of time but, on the other hand, the greatest reward is when someone wishes to buy one of my existing paintings or commissions me to paint something especially for them. Even more so if the sale or commission comes from an overseas buyer.”

This year, the artist plans to start working on a new collection, which she says will be different to the work she’s done so far, but she is nonetheless eager to see where it takes her. And while she may hold another solo exhibition at the end of 2021, there are no definite plans for it just yet. Whatever she does, Jo will be pushing the boat out and creating something new with her captivating art. In her own words, “by nature, I am not a traditionalist. I love to be different and prefer to set a trend rather than to follow one.”

This feature was first carried in the February/March edition of the Commercial Courier