GRANTS, N.M. Joan Sheski has been painting for over four decades, though her love for art stretched back to childhood.
Raised in Philadelphia as the child of two artists, Sheski spent countless hours wandering the halls of the Philadelphia Art Museum, absorbing the power of visual storytelling. Those early experiences planted the seeds of a lifelong creative journey.
Sheski’s creative journey began in the 1960s, when she minored in art in college and found mentorship in two inspiring professors. Years later, after moves to Kentucky and then to Zuni, New Mexico, the impulse to create art became unavoidable.“ Having… my first child made me think, ‘I can do this,’” Sheski said. “Creativity is a fragile thing, but the land and that moment in my life gave me courage.” The vast skies, jagged mesas, and shifting desert light of New Mexico became both her subject and her inspiration.
Sheski’s artistic process is a blend of observation and emotion. “I will see something and react to it,” Sheski explained.” It comes in through my eyes, connects with something inside me, and comes out my hand.” Her work is not about precise replication but about translating the essence of what she sees and feels. The skyline of Mount Taylor or the delicate petals of a flower might start as a pencil sketch, but the final painting is an emotional dialogue with the land.
Watercolor became her medium of choice. Sheski described watercolor as both liberating and unforgiving. “Once it’s on the paper, that’s it. Watercolor isn’t erasable. But it flows, and it glows,” Sheski said. Her approach is patient and methodical painting petals individually, in layers, or flipping the paper to paint a sky above a mountain ridge. Experimenting with combining watercolors, she explained, “If you see something in shadow and it looks black, I’ll find the grays and blues that really make it alive.”
Sheski’s greatest influence is not a person, but a place. “New Mexico,” she said. “The first time I came here, me and New Mexico went—bam. You’re home. This is it.” She explained the land’s spiritual and visual richness, its ever-changing skies, its desert flora, and its variety of cultures remains an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Even after brief relocation to Montana and Kentucky, she always felt the pull to return. “To be here is an incredible privilege… To be in the midst of so many cultures, [the] stars, wonderful clouds, they’re not plain.”
She explained that she believes her art resonates most deeply with viewers when they see something familiar and beloved in it. She recalls people recognizing something or being reminded of home when they see her art. “That’s the connection I hope for,” Sheski said.
Over the years, Sheski has exhibited and sold her work through various venues, notably her works are sold at the local Double Six Gallery with the Cibola Arts Council, where she has been a member since the 1970s. While sales are welcome, creating for her has never been about accolades or ego. “It’s something that takes over me,” Sheski said. “I don’t know how not to do it. I was born to do this.”
Sheski remains a passionate supporter of local art and a believer in its role in economic and cultural vitality. ¨The Double Six Gallery is a treasure,¨ Sheski said. “Its all original work, representing the people of this area. I hope the city continues to appreciate it.