Joni Falk

Joni Falk Biography:

A still life, portrait, and western landscape painter, Joni Falk is a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, and is known for her crisp, realistic, and lushly colored artwork.

She was born in Chicago, Illinois, and her mother died when Joni was 2 1/2 years old, at which time her father’s sister began caring for her, a brother and two sisters, one younger and one older. Her father and her Aunt Angie encouraged her artistic interest at an early age.

She majored in English and business at Marquette College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and then worked for Continental Casualty in Chicago. There she met her husband, Bob, an insurance salesman. They moved to Helena, Montana, because of his accepting a job, and she worked for the telephone company. A move to Seattle saw her employed with an ad agency, and the couple also had a child.

Bob’s mother called them to Arizona to go into a bowling alley-cocktail lounge venture, which lasted only a short time. Eventually Joni began teaching crafts, and she and Bob opened an art supply store where she also taught art for thirteen years. She had a bout with ovarian cancer, and then she and her husband established a graphics, laser printing business in Scottsdale. She continues to teach and most of her workshops are offered at the Scottsdale Artists School.

Many of her still lifes are of Indian pottery, an interest aroused some years ago by an article in “Arizona Highways.” She travels frequently to Indian pueblos and reservations where she also gets subject matter for her landscapes.