By Michael Picarella pic@theacorn.com

Joy Sardisco

A painter who focuses on one work at a time might run into a hurdle that stumps him, possibly affecting the painter’s life away from his art. On the other hand, a painter who works on simultaneous paintings might get stumped, but can move on to other works, allowing time to help solve the problem. It’s this method of painting that works for Thousand Oaks painter Joy Sardisco.

"There’s a lot of times with painting that it’s so frustrating and hard," Sardisco said. "The key with me is to have more than one painting going so that I don’t get totally hung up on one. I can walk away from it for a while and come back to it later."

Sardisco has the same approach to life.

Sardisco was an Oak Park Unified School District teacher who retired in 1999 after 26 years in the profession to focus on her art. She now makes a living painting landscapes, portraits and floral designs, using primarily oils and acrylics. An award-winning artist, she’s a founding member of SCAPE (Southern California Artists Painting for the Environment) and a member of Santa Barbara Art Association and Los Padres Watercolor Society.

  Sardisco’s work can be found in collections across the United States and in Europe.

  As a teacher, Sardisco hoped to make a difference in kids’ lives.

  "I especially enjoy helping them think, be curious and question everything in life," Sardisco said. She taught every grade between kindergarten and 12th, particularly enjoying teaching elementary school.

Sardisco often painted in the early morning, then put on her "teacher’s hat" for school, then her "student’s hat" at evening art classes. Among the schools at which she studied art were Moorpark and Ventura community colleges, CSUN, and Otis Parsons School of Design.

Sardisco has taken much from her teaching experience and applied it to her painting.

"I’m still a child," she said. "I’m keeping the child in my heart. As a teacher, I tried to help children keep that mindset so that they don’t get so serious about everything. We did a lot with art, and my attitude was: ‘This is just practice. If it turns out great, then that’s great and you’ve got a nice little painting. But you’re going to make mistakes, you’re going to learn from your mistakes and you won’t be afraid of your mistakes.’ I think that’s very, very important in life."

Sardisco enjoys learning from her mistakes. That’s part of the creative process, she said, that’s so exhilarating to her.

"I also love getting my work out there and sharing it," Sardisco said. Some of her paintings provoke thought, and she’s always anxious to see how those works are received.

"With my landscapes, I want to create a mood or a feeling . . . I do floral paintings that are more for color and to enjoy. But I paint portraits, and with those I think I’ve definitely tried to evoke some thoughts from people."

One of her portraits shows a man in his 70s who plays clarinet on the street.

"He doesn’t have to be out there on the street," Sardisco said. "He’s quite elderly and he has someone drive him quite a distance to get here. I was hoping that people would look at my painting and see him as giving a gift to us."

Another painting Sardisco created shows a Mediterranean woman wearing a veil over part of her face. On the veil, Sardisco painted the words: "Curiosity is insubordination."

"I think it’s kind of hard to walk away from that painting without asking, ‘What is she talking about?’" Sardisco said.

After retiring from OPUSD, Sardisco began teaching a new discipline.

"(School) teaching can sometimes get stressful, so I starting taking yoga," she said. "I get migraines and yoga helps. I now get fewer headaches and yoga also helps me to relax.

"After retiring, I went and became licensed yoga instructor," Sardisco said. "I find that yoga works beautifully with painting. Yoga is kind of a meditation and so is painting."

Sardisco keeps herself busy with several activities. In addition to her painting and yoga, she enjoys gardening and knitting.

"The same way I like to have more than one painting going, I think that’s also a great idea for life," Sardisco said. "I have a lot of interests and I’m doing them all at the same time." When something in her painting work, for example, gets her down, she jumps onto another activity that brings her spirits back up. "We all have ups and downs," she said. "You’ve got to have balance."

More than 30 of Sardisco’s paintings will be displayed in August at Gallery Los Olivos in Los Olivos. For more information, call the gallery at (805) 688-7517.