Playful Realism

Watercolor's Resume (PDF)
Writer's Resume (PDF)
Solo Exhibit Recommendations (PDF)

Joanna A. McKethan, SW, WSNC

North Carolina native Joanna Allred McKethan received Old Masters training in Germany in oils from a master at a private Munich studio, as well as in watercolor from a Polish professor working with the University of Munich Extension.

Her paintings hang at two of her galleries, j'Originals' Art Studio at 126 East Broad Street in Dunn and at Art on Broad Atelier at 217 East Broad in Dunn. She has taught art privately as j’Originals for 29 years to over 1,000 students. Her paintings were formerly shown at North Star/Anderson Gallery in Wilson.

"Playful realism" describes her edgy classical approach. Bubbles, glass, lace, and old letters are favorite painting subjects. A signature member of the Southern Watercolor Society and the Watercolor Society of North Carolina, she has served on the WSNC board some 12 years in several positions, including fund raising. Her paintings have won numerous awards in juried art shows. National juried shows include Alabama's Watercolor Annual, Rocky Mount, Goldsboro, and Fayetteville Museum of Art. In 2003, a painting was juried into the 106th Annual Open of the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club at the National Arts Club in New York City.

Ms. McKethan studied art at Queens University, Charlotte, at UNC-Chapel Hill, under Leon Jonczyk professor at the University of Munich in Germany, in Herr Bergheim's Old Master's studio in Munich, and in Colorado under Thomas Buechner. Ms. McKethan was awarded two regional Arts Council grants from Fayetteville/Cumberland County.

She lives with husband Sandy on the Cape Fear and has two adult children, Erika and Nathan.