Jo Ann attended the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena,
California for four years and it was there she met and soon after married
today-renown fine artist, Morgan Weistling. .
Following art school, JoAnn jumped right into a career as an
illustrator. Her paintings were reproduced on book covers, video boxes, and
in magazines. Though she had built a regular client base she was faced with
the decision to put her career on hold as she found herself expecting their
first child. Never regretting her years spent raising their daughter,
Brittany, she knew a time would come when she could pick up her brushes
again and resume her work. As their daughter grew and required less of
JoAnn's time, she found this to be true. With Brittany in school, she first
thought of going back to illustration. However, a new art horizon had risen
since the time she had been illustrating.
The world of commercial art had changed drastically with the advent of
computer art. Being a purest of sorts, JoAnn looked for an outlet that
would embrace traditional hand-painted artwork. With her husband's career
in fine art thriving, she turned towards the world of painting for
galleries.
Seeing the success of her husband, and not withstanding her own talent, Jo
Ann set forth to reinvent herself as an artist, and as a person as well. “I
was solely established as a wife and mother, but to click over in my mind to
becoming a fine artist meant, I felt, that I should have something to say
that would be worthwhile to speak about in my work, or else it wouldn't be
worth it to me. I didn't want it to be about the money or success, but
about familiarity with something I could be proud of.” She found just that.

Ever since her beginnings in illustration, Jo Ann wanted to find a
thematic element to her work. Something that could resonate and emit
visually what her heart was feeling. It took ten years to accomplish that
goal. I needed to knowI was being an individual who had a view on something that was unique to
me which is why I strived for so long to find something I could be
passionate about.”
So after painting various portraits for her own growth, from Elvis to
Union Civil War soldiers, not to mention inspiration from such
artististic influences such as Clark Hulings, Joaquin Sorolla, Van Gogh, and
a mass of Russian Realism Impressionists, and after ten years of yearning for more, she was
struck with an idea. Her theme would become “working heroes of hispanic
descent. “A hero is anyone you look up to. I looked up to my grandmother.
Her name was Anita Peralta, and I was entranced with her up until her death
when I was eighteen. She affected me throughout my life, not only by her
nurturing nature and example, but by her faith in God, community
involvement, her strength of character, and her work ethic.” Anita and my
grandfather, Raymond, came to this country as Mexican immigrants and settled
in California, making part of their living as seasonal pickers. Anita
Peralta's desire was to become a U.S. citizen. She did just that, along with
her husband, and she quickly got involved in her church charities and
fundraisers for the city. She also embraced America while at the same time
remaining proud of her Mexican heritage. She felt she could be American
while at the same time being true to the roots that helped shape her. Jo
Ann states, “Anita Peralta loved the U.S. and this was her home. I really
respected that she understood where she came from and who her allegiance was
to, and I, in turn carry that same pride and gratitude as a third generation
Californian. I have even taken her last name in my art career as a way to
pay her tribute.”
As Jo Ann Peralta gained momentum in her painting abilities, six years as
a professional illustrator and a total of ten years observing and learning
from her husband, it seemed as if fate happened a chance meeting as her
artistic vision was ripe for inspiration. She recounts the day it happened,
“As I was driving with my family back from a camping trip we passed fields
and fields of agricultural produce with workers picking the fruits and
vegetables. Both men and women, lifting heavy baskets, carrying and dropping
them into larger bins. They looked like ants, constantly moving, intent on
doing their best. A humble people, like my grandmother, non-complaining, and
proud of the work they did.” This scene caused Jo Ann to reflect on her
grandmother and the sacrifice she made in working as a picker to help put
food in the mouths of her children. Jo Ann closes by saying, “They were
hard working people and on that road, as we drove past the workers in the
fields, I came face to face with my heritage and a deep sense of pride in
whom and what helped me become who I am today.”

As we all look back on what helped us become Americans, weren't most of
us given the advantage of growing up in a country rich with heritage and
sacrifice because of the selfless acts of our ancestors, who themselves came
from another country? The work ethic is strong and proud and should be held
up as an attribute to be nurtured and passed on to succeeding generations.
Looking intent on passing her message along, Jo Ann Peralta adds, “There is
pride in labor, despite the job, be it white collar or blue collar labor. I
am grateful and I want the world to know it. I find beauty in the face of
the laborer, regardless of the persons heritage or economic status and I
want to explore more of the laborer and more of my roots. I'd like to bring
you, the viewer, along.”

Please feel free to contact the artist at: believeit@socal.rr.com