Joan Horsfall Young received her formal training as an artist at Central Technical Art School, Toronto. She furthered her art education while living in Europe for ten years.
Upon her move to California, Young became an avid plein air impressionist painter focusing on a variety of subject matter including landscapes, florals and genre paintings. Her work is recognizable by her use of buttery paint and loose brushwork. It has been described as strong, forthright with a good use of pictorial space.
