Joan Gantz is a native New Jersey artist who works primarily in acrylics with the addition of graphite, marker and collage. She divides her time between Essex County and Ocean County and receives great inspiration from both the New York metro area and the Jersey Shore. Her undergraduate focus was nursing and she practiced in Critical Care for fifteen years. Joan’s interest in creating art and fascination with color have been intrinsic to her since childhood. The opportunity to study painting began at the LBI Foundation of the Arts and Sciences and was continued at the Yard School and the New Jersey Center for Visual Arts . She has embraced and continues to develop an abstract style which is frequently inspired by forms in nature,including figurative subjects. Other powerful sources for her work is derived from her travels, emotional interpretations and responses to life circumstances.