Joan was born in Bristol, England, and has been painting miniatures since she was eleven years old. In 1976 she moved to the USA, developing her career as a painter and teacher specialising in miniature painting and its history.

Joan has painted miniatures of leading film, TV, religious and political personalities. She helped to found both the Canadian Society of Miniature Painters - a sister society of the RMS, and the West Coast Society of Miniature Painters in Santa Barbara, California.

The Joan Cornish Willies Studio is situated in Clearwater, Florida and accepts a limited number of students. Classes are also given on the internet to a selected number of dedicated students, who also attend workshops held in the Studios.

Joan gives workshops around North America and Great Britain at the request of miniature art societies.

The portrait of Rudolf Nureyev, shown above, is now at the New York Library of the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.