Hi there! My Name is Joilyn Ryerson but everyone calls me Joi, and I live for drawing portraits. I drew my first portrait (in charcoal) in the sixth grade, and was hooked. Ever since then I've been creating works of art that bring me great joy. I attended Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia for two years, where I studied Fine Arts which included drawing, painting, sculpting, ceramics, woodworking, and various other branches of art. While, for the most part, I consider myself to be self-taught, the instruction I recieved at VSU gave me many insights into my abilities as an artist and helped me to fine tune my skills. I'm also a proud military wife and a mother of two amazing boys, both of whom are, many times, the inspiration for my art. We currently reside in beautiful Mary Esther, FL.