Joanna Garel is a Filipino-Canadian artist living in the South Bay, who took an unconventional path to her works.

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Growing up in Toronto, Canada, her younger brother was seen as the true artist in the family. Instead, Joanna embarked on a successful career in modeling, television, and film, most notably as the lead female role in the Disney feature film "Snow Dogs."

After many years of immersing herself at the periphery of the art world—volunteering to teach art and collecting—fate stepped in, in the form of a nine-year-old boy with a discerning eye.

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Joanna recently sustained a back injury while surfing and had started painting to pass the time. The young boy, however, happened to be the son of a local artist and the founder of The Hermosa Beach Art Walk. He encouraged her to create more of her works immediately, her lone subject being lifeguard towers.

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"In Southern California, these towers are simultaneously iconic and banal. Representing peace, safety, and strength in their isolation within the landscape. They evoke anticipation, while promoting the haven of summer, where one soars with the freedom of sun, sand, and surf."

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Since then, Joanna's original paintings in acrylic and monoprints have quickly sold out at the Riley Arts Gallery in Manhattan Beach, with commissioned orders for more. She counts Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and Wayne Thiebaud among her favorite artists.

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She is currently preparing for her first solo show in October 2014.