This story was featured in the January 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art January 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
Many kids like to contemplate which imaginary superpower they’d choose for themselves if they could possess just one. When she was young, painter Joyful Enriquez wished not for the power of invisibility or superhuman strength but for the ability to breathe underwater. After drifting off to sleep at night, she often dreamed she could talk with whales while swimming the depths of the sea with them. “I grew up in a rough home life,” says Enriquez. “There wasn’t much beautiful or magical about it, so these dreams gave me hope that, while I was in this bad situation, one day I wouldn’t be anymore.”
Today you could say Enriquez’s seafaring dreams have come true. The Michigan native—now an award-winning marine wildlife painter living in Panama City, FL—studied studio art and illustration at Pensacola Christian College, where she devoted her master’s thesis to depicting the underwater world that inspired her early in life. Also a certified scuba diver and an active partner with ocean wildlife conservation groups, Enriquez is able to study, photograph, and interact with many of the marine animals she paints. From the “mischievous” sea turtle to the “grumpy” bluefin tuna, “It’s really easy to feel connected to these creatures underwater,” she says. “You realize how intelligent they are.”
In her paintings, the self-described expressive realist strives to capture the light, color, and movement of her subjects’ shimmering underwater habitats. “I hope that the way I paint gives people a sense of healing—of the beauty and peacefulness that comes when entering into these water environments,” says Enriquez.
Find the artist’s work at Annapolis Marine Art Gallery, Annapolis, MD; Foster Gallery, Miramar Beach, FL; The Artist Cove Studio, Panama City, FL; and East End Gallery, Inlet Beach, FL.
This story was featured in the January 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art January 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.
MORE RESOURCES FOR ART COLLECTORS & ENTHUSIASTS• Subscribe to Southwest Art magazine• Learn how to paint & how to draw with downloads, books, videos & more from North Light Shop• Sign up for your Southwest Art email newsletter & download a FREE ebook
The post Emerging Artists | Joyful Enriquez appeared first on Southwest Art Magazine.