Joan Fischer brings a joyful and distinctly personal perspective to contemporary Maine art. A former attorney, police commissioner, and fundraiser, Joan’s creative journey deepened after retirement, when she began devoting herself fully to a lifelong passion for art. “I didn’t have a role as an artist,” she explains. “Art was my release and my joy and the quirky part of me that not a lot of people ever got to see.”Color is Joan’s primary language. Working with acrylics, watercolor, oil pastel, colored pencil, and ink—often in combination—she creates on canvas, paper, yupo, and oversized wood planks. Her exuberant style ranges from textile-inspired compositions to decorative floor mats and whimsical 6-foot wooden fish. “Whether it’s functional or decorative, the goal is the same,” she says. “To spark joy in anyone who sees it.”Though self-taught, Joan was immersed in art from a young age. Her mother was a gifted sculptor; her grandmothers, both immigrants, passed down intricate textile traditions, from embroidery to lace-making. Joan’s earliest memories include color theory lessons in backyard studios, and pastel and perspective drawing, beginning at a young age. “I relate to the world through color,” she says. “It’s how I process what I see.”Today, she splits her time between studios in Portland and East Boothbay, drawn to the shifting light of Maine’s working waterfront and the quiet rhythm of coastal life. Her inspirations also include indigenous art and architecture, modern textile design, and artists like Klimt, Kandinsky, and Frankenthaler. “I don’t have formal training,” she says. “So no one told me I couldn’t mix mediums or invent my own shapes. I just go where the joy is.”Listen to Joan’s full story on Radio Maine.