Artist Spotlight: JoAnne Houlsen
- jpmaffett
- Jun 11
- 3 min read
Sometimes an artist or a poet or a writer looks at a blank page or canvas and wonders where to begin. For JoAnne Houlsen, that moment is not a beginning. Her process for creating art begins long before that. She explains … “It seems to me that building things is my passion whether with hammer and nails, paper and glue, paint and brushes or popsicle sticks. Always, it has been what I love to do … from building sandcastles on a sunny day at the beach to scrounging around our basement or yard for scraps of wood or cardboard to build a cabin as a child.
Now, many years later, that love of building has become an important component of my painting process. I make many of the panels I paint on in addition to gluing canvas to the panels to obtain the textured surface I prefer. I use three coats of gesso, sanded between layers before starting to paint.”
JoAnne has been busy the last few months helping to build community. She is one of 20 artists selected to participate in the Waterfront Concerts Fence Murals a project of Bangor Beautiful and Waterfront concerts in collaboration with Jared Goulette. Murals depicting images of Maine will fill the 760-foot-long fence in June 2025. JoAnne’s piece is a fanciful image of a dancer amidst a favorite street art installation in Bangor.
Next up for JoAnne are two shows in 2026 that she is working on now. In the show for Waterfall Arts in Belfast, ME, JoAnne will be working with two other artists to depict the same scenes around Maine, each in their unique style showing the diversity of perspectives. At the Rock and Art Shop (Bangor) show, JoAnne’s art will be the only work on display. Recently JoAnne’s Sidney’s Porch received first prize in painting at the Bangor Arts Society 2025 Open Juried Show.
JoAnne’s distinctive painting style highlights simple moments in life … a potted plant near a wicker chair, a field of Queen Anne’s Lace in front of a classic house, a boat rocking in the waves, a winter tree in a snow-ringed blueberry field. Often these scenes are depicted in oil paint, but she also enjoys working with caran d’ache, watercolor, collage, paint pens and more. Sometimes she moves beyond two-dimensions and creates collaged sculptures. Often starting with a photograph, she might recreate the scene in several mediums. She says that her art tells stories “My paintings very much speak of who I am and what is important to me. Living here in Maine is by far one of the most important parts of my life and my paintings tell that story. A story of the land and the beauty of its wide-open spaces, deep forests, and wild-crashing surf. It tells a story of the gardens of summer and the colors of autumn. It has been my good fortune to have had the opportunity to build a rewarding and art-filled life here.”
Whether she is working on large canvases, six feet tall or small panels six-inches wide, JoAnne compares her art to starting an adventure where she can “delve into my experiences with meaning and depth and the adventure is not only one of introspection, but also one of solving a problem, always searching for what will make the image say what I am trying to convey. This part of the journey involves calling into play the technical aspects of building a composition that works. It involves asking oneself questions about how to construct the image, what makes a good composition, what color architecture will work best, how will you lay paint down and hopefully, you begin to have a dialogue with the painting and in some odd way, the answers start coming. And the building of the work takes shape and believe me, it will tell you when it’s done or not done. Then the choice is mine as the artist, should I keep going or stop?”
As a member of the Eastport Gallery, JoAnne’s work will be on display in the front gallery with three other members for a show called The Travelers. JoAnne, Diana Young, Helena Bosse and Jon Taner named their show for the travelling they do from their homes in Bangor and Brewer to their seasonal perches in Eastport. Their show runs June 21 through July 11. When artist JoAnne travels, she always comes prepared to create, but she keeps it light. Whether she is behind the desk at the gallery or relaxing on Clark Street, it is not unusual to see her with a sketchbook and a pen or a brush in her hand.
You can see more of JoAnne’s work as well as other Eastport Gallery member-artists’ work online at eastportgallery.com. And here are more Artist Spotlights to enjoy.
