Jo Farris began her formal education at the Mississippi State College for Women studying art in the classical tradition. Her studies continued at the University of South Alabama where she deepened her thoughts about aesthetics within an introduction to abstraction. Her later work ranged from traditional realism, decorative wall treatments, plein air, and theater set design. While studying oil painting with renown artists Bo Bartlett, Camille Prezwodek, and Roger Dale Brown her visual language developed. An article in the Huff Post, “Ten Memorable Paintings from 2014”, by John Seed, led her to Rebecca Crowell and the study of oil paint and cold wax medium. It is the amalgamation of these disciplines which has given her recent paintings its full weight and complexity.
Her most rewarding moments were spent volunteering with the shelter insecure at the outreach program, Home Is Where The Art Is, sponsored by the Bo Bartlett Center, Columbus, GA, where she was a founding member of the Advisory Board. She joined her voice to a full complement of artists as a founding board member of the Joseph House Gallery, Columbus, GA. They promoted the understanding of visual arts as the only cooperative art gallery in the second largest city in Georgia. During her decades as a Columbus, GA, resident Jo designed and executed murals in the Aflac Children’s Library, served as a docent at the Columbus Museum and created posters for the U.S. Army marathon and cultural arts programs. She was commissioned by the Society of Cincinnati to paint a portrait of their Georgia Chapter’s Harper Fowlkes historic home for their national center, the Anderson House, in Dupont Circle, Washington D.C. She is recognized as a fine artist with paintings in galleries, corporations, and private homes and has received numerous awards.
She currently resides in Richmond, VA, with her husband and Golden Retriever, Gracie, where she continues to paint.
