THE ART SPOT
A School of Fine Arts in Danbury Connecticut
In 1994, two professional artists and Pratt Institute grads Joanne and Bruce created The Art Spot, a school of fine arts for kids and adults. They share their knowledge of art to educate and motivate their students. The atmosphere is charged with creativity and support to those just beginning, focusing on process and technique vs. result. Experienced artists enjoy opportunity to hone their skills though instruction and objective review of their body of works.
Owning a unique brand of working with people to get them to discover the very best of themselves, Joanne and Bruce instill in students that the basis for creativity is in everyone and delight in helping people understand art really is in all of us, if you just give it a chance to be expressed. They both thrive on the fast-paced energy of The Art Spot studio, where they are honored to nurture all kinds of art, every single day.
These two artists also create dynamic, site specific Mosaic Mural Public Art for cities, towns, corporations and special interest groups. Social Justice, Equality, Kindness and Inclusivity are personal passions of theirs, as proven in The Eyes of the World Mosaic.
School Residency programming is available across the country, creating Mosaic Murals. This is a proven way to introduce the rebirth and transformation of whatever area these murals are installed. The excitement of these pieces can be seen in our Gallery Pictures.
Their collaborative Public Art, whether with Cities, Libraries, Corporate Teams, or Community Centers, bring hundreds of people together who may never have had the chance to cross each other’s paths. This type of creative placemaking brings about team building and respect for one another.
What a wonder Joanne and Bruce feel to see some unlikely team partners, with distinct socioeconomic, cultural, religious, educational and political differences, come together to collaboratively create a magnificent piece of art!
Our Founders
JOANNE HUNTER
Co-Founder, Artist, Director
Joanne Hunter is a native of Connecticut, also graduating from Pratt Institute with a BFA degree. Trained as a designer, she freelances in textile, interior and fashion design as well as graphics. In addition she is an award winning fine artist exhibiting pastels and watercolors.
Joanne is an exhibiting member of many regional art associations and is on several Art Committees and regional arts boards. An arts activist in her community as well as the surrounding area, Joanne curates art exhibits, mentors high school art students.
She is a respected recipient of many Public Art commissions.
Creating a line of high end gift products Joanne and Bruce have hand-crafted their line of clocks, miniatures, Christmas trees, house copies and wire portraiture for many years, selling to the Boston Museum of Art, Horchow, Brooklyn Museum, Nieman Marcus, Macy’s and hundreds of specialty gift stores world-wide.
BRUCE HUNTER
Co-Founder, Artist
Born in New York, Bruce discovered a love of art and architectural as well as an affinity for things in nature, while living in Europe, explaining the themes of his artwork. Bruce received a BFA from Pratt Institute. His experience includes working at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill as an architectural model-maker and as a highly respected craftsman in the miniatures world.
An award-winning artist, Bruce exhibits all over the country. His paintings encompass a broad range, including oils, watercolors and pastels. His topics range anywhere from nature to architecture. It’s the striking attention to detail in all of his paintings that is always consistent and apparent as it draws you in for a closer look, enveloping the viewer in the richness, color, blended with the natural setting and realism of the subject. His ability to make the viewer feel a part of the painting has resulted in his artwork being held in private collections throughout the United States and Europe as well as earned him numerous exhibition awards.
Bruce is an exhibiting member of many regional art organizations, as well as a member of the California Society of Pastels and the American Watercolor Society.
He is a respected recipient of many Public Art commissions.
