A Discussion with the Artist – Joanne Last

The Art Buyer Gallery interviewed Surrey-based abstract painter Joanne Last, currently exhibiting four beautiful, emotive abstract paintings in our Summer Collection ’26. We’re thrilled to have caught up with the artist to discuss her incredibly creative upbringing, love for countryside walks surrounded by nature, and powerful painting intuition. The Summer Collection closes Saturday 8th August; don’t miss out on viewing Joanne’s captivating contemporary work in the flesh.

Continue reading to discover more…

 

Pictured: Joanne Last 

 

Talk us through your first introduction to painting; did your family background influence your decision to dive into the art world?

Both my parents went to art school, so my sister and I were surrounded by creativity from the moment we were born. There was no first introduction as such as it was just part of our childhood to draw and paint and make things. I remember sitting on my father’s lap watching him draw a scene in perspective and learning about vanishing points and horizon lines when I was very young!

We always had materials and inspiration around us, and help of course. My mother had been an art teacher before we were born, so we did wonderful things together like making puppets and sewing doll’s clothes. My father was an exhibition designer and worked from home. There was nothing he couldn’t build or make. The house was often filled with things he was working on and it was lovely that he was always around in his workshops and studios. We went to exhibitions all the time and one of the first pictures that hung on my bedroom wall as a child was a Picasso print.

 

You have a fascinating background, being a trained classical pianist. Do music and art overlap in your life, or do you like to keep them separate?

I’m often asked this and I always have to think about the answer! The two disciplines should in theory overlap – but I think, for me, not consciously. I don’t set out to translate, say, musical movement or rhythm in my art – but perhaps it is there unconsciously and filters through into my paintings. Certainly, other people have commented on this. I am very lucky to have two creative outlets. It gives me balance and stops me spending too long on one thing or over working. They can both take a lot of energy and head space – so I find if I am working towards a music event then I don’t paint much and vice versa.

 

Pictured: Joanne Last’s studio space

 

What significance does intuition hold in your art practice? Is it your intuition that guides you into deciding when a piece is finished?

I would say intuition is very necessary and significant in my practice. As soon as I overthink or get too analytical, I can trip myself up. Once I am physically painting, I work best when I am in that unconscious intuitive flow. But that state isn’t always obliging or easy to come by. As artists we get stuck, try too hard, go off track. I find that examining my work, getting ideas, and considering what I am doing is often best done away from the studio. Once I am in my studio, I usually have my apron on and my paints out within minutes. The knowing when a piece is finished can be tricky – but it can often be one tiny, small thing (that maybe no one else would even notice) that makes me say ‘Yes, that’s it’. The start of the process is fast and bold, and the end can be a hiatus – staring and searching until a little intuitive voice declares what’s needed and then one mark can be all it takes to literally put a full stop to the piece!

 

Pictured: Joanne Last in the studio

 

We love how abstract art encourages viewers to look deeper into each layer, mark, drip that goes into one piece. What is it about creating abstract art that you love the most?

I love working this way because I’ve never been really drawn to working from life directly. I enjoy being outside and all things natural – visiting the coast, walking in the countryside, noticing colours and textures and being in the elements. But what has always excited me the most is the actual process of painting – the materials themselves and the unexpected things that can happen when you are brave enough to do drastic edits and changes. There is a fabulous freedom in being able to do whatever you like. But that doesn’t make it easy. Working without a definite plan can mean a long journey to get to anything I am happy with. But the satisfaction when I do get a really good outcome is worth it for me.

 

The colours you use in this gorgeous new collection of work tells a beautiful story of harmony & resistance across the canvas. Do you mix the colours as you go, or are they pre planned?

My palette has changed and developed over the years, and I find I go through phases of exploring particular colours. I have my staple ‘favourites’ and know how to mix the colours that I use regularly. But equally I stumble across new combinations or hues that I then incorporate. I often work with a limited palette – it just makes the process easier and the work more cohesive. So, in answer, I am ‘mixing as I go’ but I also have an idea of what I want – ie coastal blues and greens or pastel pinks and lilacs. I can then start with known ingredients but expect surprises and shifts as I go!

 

Pictured: Joanne Last’s colours

 

We’d love to know more about what your painting process looks like from day to day. Does this differ for your smaller vs bigger pieces?

I am lucky to have a studio in my garden, so I can work on lots of canvases and store many pieces in various stages of completion. I do really like working large, and also very small – It’s anything in the middle that I often struggle with! I can have perhaps 6 large paintings that I’m working on, plus the same number or more tucked away, which are more experimental or are pieces that I don’t know yet where they are going. Experience is teaching me to leave things alone when I am not happy with them and come back another day. Conversely, if I make a fabulous start on a large canvas, I am often reluctant to spoil it! That’s where it is actually good to have a canvas that I don’t like much because I have more freedom to be bold. I find small work a challenge because I really dislike small brushes! For these I still use the same tools as for the large pieces, but utilise more things for scraping, scratching and mark making rather than painting with a brush.

Every time I enter my studio I try to tap into what it is I want to do at that particular moment – rather than simply carrying on with what I was doing the previous session. Sometimes I don’t paint at all and just gather and look at inspiration I have around my studio. Small quick ideas on paper, scraps of collage paper, things I’ve saved simply because they resonate somehow. I can go down endless rabbit holes with these – arranging them, tearing things up and juxtaposing with something else. It seldom leads to any sort of finished piece but this experimental process always informs me and is never a waste. I don’t have a sketchbook practice and much prefer working like this to generate ideas and exercise my creative muscles.

 

Pictured: Joanne Last’s studio space

 

If you could, what piece of advice would you give to yourself at the start of your art career?

Actually, this might sound strange, but I often look back at the artist I was at the start of my art career with some envy! When I was first selling my work, finding galleries, doing art fairs etc – it all felt so uncomplicated and exciting. This was all long before we had websites and social media. I just did what I liked and was constantly changing and trying new things. I still work like this to some extent- but there is more pressure now with the constant visibility and comparison and need to be consistent or produce a certain thing. So my advice would be to maybe capture that freedom again and embrace it!

 

 

View the Joanne Last collection

Pictured: Finding Stillness by Joanne Last

 

 

My Life In Art ~ Joanne Last

 

First piece of art you bought?

I’ve actually bought very little art – mainly because for much of my adult life I was living in a one bedroom flat and had to use my wall space to store my own work! I now have a lot of my late father’s paintings hanging in our home as well as some of the pieces he and my mother collected over the years. A favourite – which I did have a hand in, as I saw it at an art fair with my parents and encouraged them to buy it – is a large Leigh Davis abstract. It hangs at the top of our stairs and every day I enjoy the fabulous textures and layers and beautiful colours.

 

Pictured: Leigh Davis abstract, Joanne Last

 

Favourite Artist?

Difficult to pick just one – I love Diebenkorn, Paul Feiler, Keith Vaughan – but perhaps top of the list would have to be Peter Lanyon

 

If you could own any piece of art (even if you have to rob a bank or museum!), what would it be and why?

I think I would choose a work on paper and on a more intimate, small scale. Something to hang by my desk and look at every day. I love ‘Coast’ by Peter Lanyon. It has all those reminders for me about how to be abstract and yet still perfectly capture a tangible place.

 

Pictured: Coast, 1953. Peter Lanyon 1918 – 1964.

 

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Thank you to the wonderful Joanne for chatting with us. We really enjoyed delving into Jo’s creative world and getting to know more about her practice. Joanne Last’s collection of four stunning original paintings can be found here.

 

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