About the Artist

I’m Joy Bergeron, a still life painter drawn to the quiet but charged presence of ordinary things. My paintings explore small, hushed moments of cinematic drama hiding in plain sight. A tipped-over teacup, a tube of lipstick, a glint of metal in shadow, these aren’t just objects for me. They’re characters. They hold posture, mood, memory. Sometimes defiant, sometimes tender, always alive.

Everyday Objects with a Story to Tell

I love catching that small, quiet drama of mundane, everyday objects. There’s a tension, a gesture, a moment of stillness that feels like the frame before the next scene in a film. I see personality in a folded napkin, or a kind of longing in the way a spoon leans in its bowl. These compositions are intimate but never passive, they hum with feeling.

By painting these moments, I try to amplify their emotional weight. Light becomes a spotlight. A tabletop becomes a stage.

My Process

I work primarily in alla prima, painting from life. I set up objects as actors on a stage, emphasizing the dramatic. I let the objects speak and tell me their stories, how they sit, how they relate, how their forms create narrative and suspense. A lot of my work is about restraint: what to leave unsaid. 

There’s a bit of anthropomorphism in how I see, not literal, but emotional. A glass bottle might seem bashful. A lemon might feel proud. I don't impose narratives so much as reveal the ones already waiting to be noticed.

Why Still Life?

Still life painting allows me to slow time. It invites the viewer to lean in, to find meaning in the unnoticed. In a world that moves fast, I paint objects that are perfectly content to stay still and yet they’re never lifeless. They have presence, secrets, even a little mischief.

If you're someone who sees a story in shadows, who senses feeling in form, or who finds beauty in the ordinary, then you're in good company here.

Let’s Connect

Whether you’re an art collector, a fellow painter, or someone drawn to work that lives between realism and reverie, I’d love to share this visual world with you. Reach out here or find me on Instagram for studio scenes, new work, and glimpses behind the curtain.