Meet Jo

 Jo Parsons is a single mum of a feisty eight-year-old daughter. She currently lives in the Southeast of NSW where she has designed and built a family home for herself and her child. Jo has spent 23 years of service as a teacher and now lives a quiet life dedicated to making her surroundings and those of others’, BEAUTIFUL.

Inspired by her senior art teacher, Jo developed a passion for art making at school which saw her elect Three Unit art and be awarded the Senior Art Prize. And whilst her pathway in education took her in a different direction, Jo continued to make art for the love of it and used drawing and painting as a means of deconstructing complex ideas of identity and belonging.

"I have always been an abstract artist and dabbled early on in my career with oils but now I love the freedom of pastels and acrylics. I get a bit messy when I paint, often using my fingers to blend colours and shape lines, I love the freedom acrylics give me and the depth of pastels, together they are my favourite medium. I like fine details but strive to work on big spaces as often my work feels like the inside of my head. It feels like I run at a million miles an hour and every stroke on the canvas is a simultaneous idea or thought."

Jo first exhibited her work in Redfern in the 90's but shied away from formal spaces suffering from imposter syndrome. Although you knew Jo liked and respected you if she gifted you a piece, and you could sometimes find her selling her art street-side in Paddington or Newtown.

"My artmaking is pure escapism, it allows me to stop and sit still, something I ordinarily struggle with, and be present in my own thoughts which are often painful and confusing. At least now after a session of painting it is easier to find internal peace and sleep, which is why I paint most nights. I tend to work through a piece from start to finish whether it takes me two hours or ten."

2023 was a year of expansion for Jo, where she opened her own gallery in Braidwood NSW, you can find her work and the work of others at Gallery 103, 110 Wallace Street Braidwood NSW. She has produced her work onto many beautiful products including umbrellas, tea towels, kids’ swimwear, journals, coasters, and there is still more to come.

 Jo’s motto is ‘Shop local, shop special, take a little bit of Jo to go!’