Joan Ellet Hogge

Since I was a young child, I have thought of myself as an artist. I carried my sketchbook with me everywhere I went. It was my friend and constant companion.

I obtained a BA in English following high school — then put off further formal education in favor of child rearing. During that period, I discovered a deep interest in writing and illustrating books for children. That interest helped motivate me to obtain a MA in English and Writing, once my children were grown. After returning to school, I taught writing at the community college level. I then became certified as an Academic Language Therapist and remediated children with reading, spelling, and writing difficulties for many years.

I missed my art and in 1998 began private lessons with Peggy Brisco after I was given one of her watercolors as a gift. Since then I have studied with many other local and nationally known artists — including Jane E. Jones, Rob Erdle, Suzanne Oldham, Jane Stephenson and Pat Kochan. I have also taken workshops with Don Andrews, Darnell Jones and Doug Walton.

In 1999 I retired to follow my dream and began to paint and write children's books full time. My paintings have been juried into local and national shows and won awards, and my painting WILDFLOWER POTPOURRI won the 1999 Richardson WILDFLOWER! Poster contest.

I am a member of the Texas Visual Arts Association (TVAA), the Southwest Watercolor Society (SWS), the Richardson Civic Arts Society (RCAS), and the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA).

In November 2005, I held a one-woman show at the Coutts Memorial Museum of Art in Kansas. I will have a show at Kathleen's Art Café in Dallas August 14 - September 25 and Kathleen's Art Café in Plano September 25 - November 6, 2006.

My paintings currently hang in the Coutts Memorial Museum of Art, the Richardson Public Library, Northaven United Methodist Church, Nortel Telecommunications, and other corporate and private collections.