Why Joanna Blair Embeds an Antique Regency Key in Every Painting

In every original painting by Joanna Blair, there is a hidden antique Regency key.

Sometimes it is clearly visible once you know where to look. At other times it is woven quietly into the layers of the work — almost like a secret between the painting and its collector.

The key has become one of Joanna’s signature motifs, appearing across her figurative paintings, florals and story-led collections. While its meaning shifts slightly from piece to piece, it always returns to the same deeper idea: access.

Access to memory.
Access to the inner life.
Access to beauty.
Access to the part of oneself that has perhaps been hidden, waiting or quietly overlooked.

For Joanna, the key is not merely decorative. It represents the act of unlocking what has always been within. In many of her paintings, the figures are not performing for the viewer; they are caught in a private moment of recognition. They are becoming aware of themselves in a new way. The hidden key quietly reinforces that emotional threshold.

It also speaks to the collector’s experience. To live with an original painting is to return to it over time, noticing details that may not have revealed themselves at first glance. A hidden key gives the work a sense of intimacy and discovery. It invites the viewer to look more slowly.

The use of an antique Regency key also connects Joanna’s work to the elegance, symbolism and romance of another era — a world of beautiful objects, private rooms, letters, heirlooms and things kept safe. It sits naturally within her visual language of florals, pearls, doves, gold and feminine transformation.

Each key is different within the world of each painting. In one work, it may suggest remembrance. In another, freedom. In another, the unlocking of courage, self-recognition or a new chapter.

But at its heart, the key always holds the same promise:

That something precious is waiting to be opened.