Joan Erbe – Paintings

"Born in Baltimore in 1926, Joan Erbe grew up in Windsor Hills on the West Side. Her father, a coffee salesman, often took her to circus side shows, where they were soon on a first name basis with many of the “freaks”. Her mother always encouraged her to create. As a response to a young Joan’s “I’m bored” sighs, she’d lock Joan in her room and state, “You can’t come out until you do some artwork!”
Joan attended a Maryland Institute program for children at the age of 7, studying under Perna Krick (who later became Reuben Kramer’s wife). Joan loved circus animals, and one of her paintings of elephants was published in The Baltimore Sun a year later. Helen Journeay sculpted the portrait of “Joan” at about ten years old, which now resides in the Maryland Historical Society. Ms. Erbe got involved with many older artists which further inspired her to pursue art. During her late teens, she spent summers with her aunt and uncle in upstate NY, where they hosted a variety of artists and actors, many from the Art Students League, and she eventually studied under painter Louis Bouche. The rest of the year she studied under Ann Didusch Schuler, and visiting artist Jacques Maroger. She gradually leaned towards expressionistic work.Joan had always painted in oils, but made the transition to acrylics in the 1980’s, and developed a new vibrant color palette for yet another generation of collectors to fall in love with. Since the 1990’s she was represented locally by Gomez Gallery, the Heineman Myers Gallery in Bethesda, and currently at Fleckenstein Gallery "(fleckensteingallery.com)