Joan Finnegan’s Dream Was Always to Be a Painter

LANESBORO – Joan Finnegan grew up in Mankato, Minn., the seventh child in a family of eight. Her father owned an implements dealership in town, so “…our lives were tied to the rhythm of the farm,” she says.

Following high school, she spent time in Denver, Colo., before returning to Minnesota, eventually building a life and gift shop business in Austin. The following decades found her living in rural Fillmore County before moving into town this past year with her husband, Wayne. 

Bluff country is where Joan has created the life she’s most known for, an oil painter of exceptional and exquisite beauty.

Root River Current (RRC): When did art first happen for you?

Joan Finnegan (JF): I was always an artist. I was drawing from the time I was three years old. My older siblings had newspaper routes and papers were delivered to them with a blank sheet wrapped around them. They gave me that paper and I started drawing on it with pencils. I was soon drawing nonstop. 

My sister came home from kindergarten one day and showed me how to draw a person’s side-profile. I said, “Okay, I’m all over this!” It came very natural to me. 

RRC: Did your family support you in those early attempts?

My family was very supportive. They gave me painting sets when I was little. There was a drawer in our dining room cupboard just for me to hold all my drawing stuff. One day when I was in high school my mom came home and found me painting my bedroom walls with bold stripes and huge, massive flowers! She didn’t get angry; she was very mellow about it. Later I remember painting a picture for my brother and mailing it to him in Vietnam where he was serving.

RRC: How did your skills grow as you got older?                                                      

JF: I spent lots of time drawing and then started painting early in high school. I couldn’t afford brushes for the fine detail work so I used toothpicks. Academic work came easy for me so I spent half my day in the art room. Students at Mankato State became aware of my work and hired me to do art projects for them; I started making side money doing that. I even won some awards.

A man from a Minneapolis art instruction school came to our house to tell me about a correspondence course. My parents encouraged me and made that possible. I would get projects by mail, do them, then send them back. I  learned a lot from doing that.

Joan speaks on her process: “Sometimes my paintings flow really fast; sometimes I struggle. I can look at a painting for a while, then add one small change that makes all the difference.” (Photo by Steve Harris)

RRC: What came next?

JF: Years later, after getting married, we opened “Serendipity,” a gift store in Austin, Minnesota, where I started teaching art classes, selling art supplies, and doing framing. I went to school to become a master framer. The store evolved into an art store. I was teaching, learning and trying watercolors, selling a few paintings, and making many good connections. It was busy, though, and I didn’t have a lot of time for my own painting. I remember painting with my daughters on my lap! When my daughters got older and I settled in Lanesboro with my husband, Wayne, I was able to paint much more. My dream was always to be an artist and I was finally doing that full-time.

RRC: What local connections did you make at first?

JF: I went to the art center in Lanesboro (then called “Cornucopia,” now it’s the Lanesboro Art Center) and volunteered to teach some classes. I also started hosting classes at our place in the country. I worked pretty much full-time for about five years before solely concentrating on my own painting. I still have a handful of private students.

Joan on living in the Driftless: “There’s something so beautiful about this area, a synergy and a magic. Maybe it’s the winding rivers, the hills, the roads. You can tell I’m fascinated with roads!” (Photo by Steve Harris)

RRC: How does an artist, specifically a painter, grow and improve?

JF:  I remember reading a book about how to improve your painting by completing one painting a day for 50 days. I tried that. Mark Harmon, an artist from Rochester whose work I still admire today, told me I should aim for 100 days! I also started doing “en plein air,” the French term for painting outdoors. 

I had all these paintings–now what was I going to do with them? I started going to trade shows and art fairs. I got a good website and placed my work in juried galleries. I was learning to build my business and promote my work. Wayne has always been wonderfully supportive in all of that.

RRC: What type of painting do you do now?

“A New Transition” oil on canvas by Joan Finnegan (Photo provided by Joan Finnegan)

JF: I work predominantly in oils. That partly happened when I started doing trade shows. It is much easier and safer traveling with oils. As a framer I also learned about the archival preservation of paintings. Watercolors dry approximately 25% lighter than the color you lay down. Also, any watercolor is only as good as where you hang it because of the fading. When you work with oils, the color you lay down is the color you end up with.

RRC: What inspires the subjects of your paintings?

JF: My painting is a reflection of me, an expression of myself. I love painting landscapes because I love the earth. I respect the earth and am fascinated with it. You can look at the same (outdoor) scene and find that it changes many times in a single day. I have a favorite spot on the bike trail from Lanesboro to Preston that is always different. Depending on the light and time of day, it is never the same scene, ever. You just need the eyes to see it.

RRC: Does Bluff Country inspire artists in a special way?

JF: I believe it does. This is Tuscany revisited! Our area has some of the most beautiful landscapes anywhere, with the hills, the valleys, the quaint villages. Wayne and I have traveled many places around the world; we always end up comparing any beauty we see to southeast Minnesota. I’m especially drawn to painting the roads and rivers of bluff country.

RRC: What is your routine and how long does it take for you to complete a painting?

JF:  Some flow really fast; on others I struggle a bit. I’ve worked on single paintings that took more than a year. I work on multiple paintings at a time. My routine varies a bit. I like to paint in natural light so I don’t paint at night. Afternoons and late mornings are my best times. I try to paint every day. I really enjoy the process of nurturing the painting. It becomes meditation to me, so much so I even sense my breathing changing. Painting is my little spot of joy.

RRC: If you don’t mind talking about this, you experienced a serious and scary situation with your eyesight a few years ago.

 JF: One day about five years ago my right eye started burning. I woke up the next morning about 3 a.m. with intense pain in that eye. Doctors diagnosed a rare infection and I lost total vision. I eventually had surgery and injections before I was able to see a bit again. I am still legally blind in that eye, but it has improved.

RRC: Personally that must have been frightening, but to think of experiencing that as an artist, a painter, who relies so much on the sense of sight, how did you respond to that?

“Full Moon over the Heartland” oil on linen by Joan Finnegan. (Photo provided by Joan Finnegan)

JF: I was fairly stoic about it and was so grateful for the incredible care and support I received. It makes you think about what’s most important in your life and what gives you your greatest joy. I knew other people see with one eye. I was in my studio painting before my vision started coming back.

 RRC: So you were determined to carry on as a painter, even if you lost vision in one eye?

JF: Absolutely. I’d feel really sorry for the people I live with if I couldn’t! Two things make me real crabby if I don’t do them. Exercise and being creative. There come points where I just know I need time in my studio. 

RRC: What advice do you give to young or new artists?

JF: Just do it! Don’t let anyone stop you. Don’t get discouraged. And don’t be afraid to ask questions. Build a consistent body of work. Express your unique, inner voice; when you discover that, you can’t deny it. 

RRC: Of all the paintings you’ve done, do you have a favorite?

JF: I always say the one I just finished!