In 1956, Joy Roggenkamp began art classes with the prominent Brisbane-based painter Jon Molvig, who encouraged her to develop a bolder, more gestural, fluid style. Indebted to his influence, Roggenkamp later commented: 

He just encouraged me to express what was in myself . . . Molvig could lead you into the channel where you could find what you were searching for. That’s when I found freedom. It was absolutely amazing what it did for me.