Joan Potter determined at a young age that she wanted to be an artist. After earning a bachelor of fine arts degree she worked as a fashion illustrator in New York. Then she met her husband and traveled with him to Japan where the couple lived for seven years. Potter has two sons. Upon her return to New York her marriage ended and she became a single working mother.

Potter was determined to become an artist and though she worked as a receptionist and waitress to support her children she still managed to paint a couple of hours each day. She studied at the Art Student's League in New York with David Leffel and Richard Phillips. Potter eventually began exhibiting her work at an outdoor art fair in Greenwich Village and her work quickl...