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I am a Chinese-Canadian artist based in the Laurentian mountains near Montreal, Canada. I am entirely self-taught and have been exploring various mediums of art for almost 30 years, from manga, webcomics and game character design to digital, gouache, oil and acrylic paintings.

After discovering acrylics for the first time in 2014, it quickly became my favorite medium due to its vibrant colors and rapid drying properties. I then began developing my own color palette and characteristic art style in 2021 when I dived deeper into digital painting, which allowed me to experiment and explore more spontaneously than traditional methods. Now, I use a hybrid process of first conceptualizing my paintings using digital, then completing the physical piece on canvas.

My professional background is in hospital medicine. As a practicing physician, my experiences caring for the sick and the elderly have manifested in many of my works through symbolism.

My art style generally favors bold brushstrokes and vibrant colors with abstract compositions and flow. After years of searching for a style that resonated with me, I developed my current technique of impressionist/fauvism colors blended with Chinese ink brushwork to reflect my mixed cultural heritage.

I love experimenting with new techniques and mediums, with my current favorite being acrylics due to their richness and versatility.

I conceptualize each painting while listening to music or walking in the forests around our home, and then experiment with the color palette and composition using Procreate on the iPad.

I then sketch a general outline on the canvas and build layer upon layer until I am happy with the final painting, which is often completely different than my original concept piece.

Most of my painting process videos can be found on Instagram @joannali.art and Tiktok @joli.painting.