Artist.  Art Dealer.  Artist Agent.  Picture Framer.  Interior Designer.  Watercolorist.  Acrylic Painter. 

Joan Terese Hayes is one of the co-owners of Fine Leaf. Having been a professional artist for over 30 years, Joan provides unique guidance and networking for emerging and nationally recognized mid career artists.  

Joan Terese Hayes' Artist Statement 
“What excites me most about creating an original watercolor or acrylic painting is the element of surprise that comes with each piece of art I work on.  I may start out with an idea for a landscape or seascape painting, but the medium may take me in a whole new direction.  Sometimes painting can be challenging, but overall I find it very rewarding.”  

Joan was born and raised in Burlington, Vermont.  She was first exposed to the arts as a young teenager when her older sister offered her the option of piano or painting lessons for her birthday.  Joan opted for painting lessons and has continued on that path for forty years, continuing with private art lessons until she started college.  She studied fine arts first at St. Michael’s College in Vermont, and later studied fine arts and interior design at the Mississippi University of Woman in Columbus, Mississippi.

In 1989, her family moved to Southern New Hampshire, where she opened J.T. Art & Frame, a frame shop and art gallery, which she ran for 15 years.  In 2003, Joan switched focus from her art gallery to becoming an artist rep with a West coast company.  In 2011, she co-founded Artists by Fine Leaf, to represent contemporary artists that create original works of art that are not reproduced.  “My favorite part of being an artist agent is each time an artist delivers new original works, it reminds me why I love what I do each time.”

In 2012, Joan moved back to Vermont.  “I feel like I’ve come full circle and revitalized after being away from Vermont for so long.”  Joan continues working as an art dealer, and painting in watercolors and acrylics from her home studio and while on the road, traveling to art galleries, frame shops and interior designers throughout the US in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas.