JOAN VOYLES LOVES ANNA MARIA!
In 1986 I chose to move from Illinois to my dream island, Anna Maria., Florida. This community is now
the core of a series of prints… over half of the 90 plus watercolor images in my developing inventory
feature Anna Maria Island and the nearby historic Cortez Village.
In late 1998, because I served on the Heritage Trail Committee developing a map featuring cultural,
historical and ecological sites of Manatee and Sarasota Counties, I began to look “with tourists’
eyes” at our unique area, applying spontaneous “on site” ink drawing – no erasing - used in
sketchbook travel journals to local scenes. The energetic line drawings were then painted with
watercolors creating the distinctive illustration look of my art.
I delight in capturing bright tropical foliage colors and contrasting these with the “old Florida”
look of local architecture. People tell me they experience whimsical and happy feelings as they
look at these artistic expressions. I am pleased when I learn of collectors who appreciate my large
variety of paintings, selecting clusters for display of favorite places and themes, such as funky
restaurants, cottages, piers and Cortez fishing village scenes. My prints are hanging in homes and
offices all over the world! My vision is that my art will help identify, preserve and protect these
special places.
Joan Watkins Abrahamson Voyles grew up in Griffith, Indiana, earned a BS in Art
Education from Butler University, MS from Northern Illinois University and then taught art in
Indianapolis, Indiana and Palatine, Illinois. In a second career she had her own business as an
executive recruiter. Returning to art, she went back to school and completed a certificate program
in Expressive Arts at the University of South Florida. Then she served as a volunteer in the Arts
and Medicine Program at Tampa’s Moffitt Cancer Center for over two years. In the Spring of 2007 she
completed the Botanical Arts and Illustration program at the Ringling School of Art and Design.
She is married to doctor, artist and author, Carl Voyles and has a son who is an attorney in
Clearwater.
Voyles and Voyles Studio – PO Box 794, Anna Maria,FL 34216 Phone: 941-778-1788
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