Junco Norton
Marlborough, MA
“Growing up in a close-knit Japanese community, I was surrounded by objects my ancestors brought with them when they immigrated to Brazil—silk kimonos, ceramics, lacquered housewares, and more. Although I didn’t view them as art at the time, they now serve as inspiration and recurring themes in my paintings.”
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Junco Norton (she/her) has always been attracted to the vivid paintings of Brazilian artists and subtle hues of Japanese woodblock prints. After pivoting from a successful corporate management career, Junco now dedicates her time and energy to creating multi-layered, mixed media paintings, a passion she has nurtured since childhood.
Junco studied the traditional uses of Japanese paper and marvels at its versatility and potential for creating nuanced texture. To begin her creative process, Junco uses Procreate to sketch, experimenting with colors and textures, reshaping the elements of her composition digitally. “Each step informs the next visual choice until an image emerges that matches my concept in structure, mood, style, and color. During this stage, the flexibility of the technology enables me to experiment freely. Even so, I exercise restraint when adding or subtracting visual elements, aiming to conform to my initial concept.”
At times, she intentionally exaggerates color and form to evoke a stronger emotional response from the viewer. “My artistic journey began with impressionistic landscapes, still lifes, and realistic depictions of wild animals.”
“I also experiment with styles, materials, and painting techniques, melding them with my own technique to achieve originality. For example, my gestural marks are influenced by Japanese calligraphy; in hand-painting rice paper for collage, I use suminagashi (Japanese paper-marbling); katagami (Japanese stencil cutting for monoprinting); Russian point-to-point art; and 3D paints to achieve the texture of Japanese embroidery (sashiko).”
“I then lightly pencil the iPad sketch onto watercolor paper or a canvas board. Then I prepare several hand-painted rice papers to match the texture or motifs emerging from the sketching process. Carefully positioning marks, lines, and colors, I collage the hand-painted rice papers onto the outlined image on the surface board.”
Making slow and process oriented art with the vision loss of glaucoma and age related macular degeneration (AMD), Junco is a strong believer in the power of perseverance, citing Malcolm Gladwell in her belief that, “it takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve world-class mastery in any field. While I don’t strictly adhere to this rule, I firmly believe that perseverance and a commitment to continuously improving my craft can lead to surprising and deeply rewarding results.”
Growing up in the Brazilian countryside, Junco was surrounded by exotic plants and animals. Only later after she moved to the United States and was able to learn more about environmentalism, did Junco begin to understand the gravity of the Amazon devastation. As she grew ever more concerned after viewing shocking images of the rainforest being burned and destroyed, she realized artmaking is her gateway to dive deeper into the beauty of the rainforest itself and illuminate its importance.
While Junco is driven by the desire to explore new ideas, techniques, and perspectives, her work is very sharply focused on her love and advocacy for themes converging around environmental issues such as rainforest protection and the beauty of wildlife found in the Amazon forest. Fascinated by the techniques, she’s learned how to paint everything from animal fur to the delicate translucence of leaves. Her artmaking has become a tool to visually preserve what she had experienced growing up, allowing future generations the opportunity to witness the same natural beauty of the wildlife of the rainforest.
Further artistic inspiration for Junco is found in family heirlooms from her Japanese ancestors, with their unique colors and shapes; vivid imagery sparked by stories she encounters; and the innovative works of other artists. “These personal experiences, cultural connections, and creative influences fuel my artistic vision and drive me to make art.”
While Junco was initially “humbled” by the unpredictability of the art world, she quickly realized that embracing humility, and accepting rejection and criticism, was essential to pursuing my second career as an artist. Now Junco relishes the connection that art enables her, the ability to share common themes, or spark dialogue. “Art allows both creators and viewers to express and experience deep emotions that may be difficult to convey through words alone.”
