Joy Tobin to Exhibit Watercolor Portraits at BeanRunner Cafe

Tis’ the season to celebrate artist Joy Tobin’s trademark watercolors exhibit, “All Creatures Great and Small”, opening on Saturday, Dec. 1, with a public reception from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the BeanRunner Café, 201 S. Division St., Peekskill, NY.

The exhibition of artwork will run from November 25 through January 20, 2013. Joy Tobin is an artist, educator, and animal activist whose watercolor series was inspired by the beauty and innocence of the animals she observes right here in the area that we live in. Using bright colors and textures, she captures their eccentricities and shares their attributes.

“Animals often seem more peaceful, content, and sometimes wiser than humans. Hopefully the viewer will also experience and understand some of these feelings,” Tobin says.

Tobin is an avid nature and animal lover, and watercolor painting is her passion! In fact, it was during a holiday season in second grade that she realized that she would be an artist. She was chosen at that time to paint a mural for her class and she concentrated on Santa.

Upon finishing, she realized that no one noticed that her Santa had no mustache; they loved her rendition of him and her vision was enough. It was then, she says, that she knew that she would be an artist. Since then, Tobin has received her B.A. and M.A. from California State University at Chico and has completed Post Graduate Studies at the University of Mainz, Germany, Parsons School of Design, New York Institute of Technology, and Manhattanville College.

Her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries in the New York area and Connecticut including the Hammond Museum and the Katonah Museum of Art.  Her paintings are part of private collections in the U.S., including the Mayo Clinic, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas. She was lead art teacher for the Pelham schools and was elected to “Who’s Who among American Teachers”.

She teaches watercolor and silk painting on international cruise ships, is a member of the Northeast Watercolor Society, and is on the board of the Katonah Museum Artist Association. The artist’s reception is free and open to the public. It is followed by an evening jazz performance by the Clifton Anderson Quintet, with a $10 music charge.  The BeanRunner Café is located at 201 S. Division Street, Peekskill, NY.  For more information, or reservations, call 914-737-1701 or email beanman@beanrunnercafe.com.  See websites at www.beanrunnercafe.com;