We had the good fortune of connecting with Susan johnson and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Susan, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Setting aside time every day to paint or draw. Learning about the medium of pastels and how to apply what I’ve learned from workshops given by nationally recognized artists. Being motivated to learn, perseverance for the long haul, networking, looking for the joy in painting everyday, & believing in myself..
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Creating art is fun but a demanding vocation. Time spent in the studio practicing and honing your skills is time borrowed from family and friends. Workshops and painting with fellow artists fill me with knowledge and social time. Meeting other artists and developing friendships based on a mutual love of creating stories in paint or sketching en Plein Air are what drive me to express myself in pastels. The vibrancy of colors, the immediate satisfaction of creating a work of art based on my unique vision is my joy. I started my art journey in college after being encouraged by high school art teachers. I wasn’t excepted into the art program at University of Illinois. There were thousands of applicants for the fine arts degree program. I chose another discipline that would except me and allow me to learn about art. Professor Robert Von Nueman, an award winning jewelry designer helped me learn about design and application of the design in metals. He also suggested that I sell my work to offset expense of materials. One of the advantages of attending a large university is that nobody knows you. I used this opportunity to audit classes in theater arts in addition to the classes that I was enrolled in. I figured that the knowledge gained would alway be apart of me. After graduation, I continued to design jewelry and sell my work on consignment in boutiques in Chicago’s Water Tower Place and Lincoln Park. I volunteered to design costumes and theater sets for local community theater for several years. Retiring from community theater I started to paint what I loved. Wild life & domestic animals have always been a joy to watch and paint. I developed a practice of painting pets on commission. I was inspired by the works of Robert Bateman, John Seerey-Lester and practiced lessons from their published books on how to paint wildlife. After meeting landscape artist Marikay Peter Witlock at a an art fair I was impressed with her work in pastels and signed up for the opportunity to learn how to work with pastels at her studio classes. Since then I have attended workshops given by several nationally recognized pastel artists specializing on a variety of subjects. Lessons I have learned are; to be open to suggestions and critiques aren’t personal. They are there to help you develop as an artist and to grow into the Artist you are meant to be. Perseverance, determination, and believing in yourself trump talent. There are no short cuts. You need to put in the time and effort to be successful. I use to believe that I wasn’t “good enough” especially when I compared myself to other artist’s work. After attending a workshop at an IAPS convention, I got up the courage to enter a national exhibition given by Chicago Pastel Painters. To my shock and surprise my work was excepted into the juried exhibition. My painting was a nocturne of a city scape and coincidentally placed next to my instructors painting at the show. As I looked around the exhibition, I realized that my work was good enough to be on those walls with the other nationally recognized artists. It was a pivotal moment in my career as an artist.
Today art gives me the excuse to do things, go places, and explore. It motivates me to look closely at nature, human interactions, sights and sounds of everyday life. The things we take for granted and frame the way we live. The heart of my work is in the outdoors. Painting the intricate patterns of light and shadow on a landscape. My goal is to create work that focuses on capturing the essence of the subject. I enjoy painting a wide range of subjects, but focus on landscapes and animals to my love of the outdoors. I am happy when a painting is as rich as the landscape that inspired it.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Visiting the city of Chicago is and exciting adventure. We would go to 33 Contemporary gallery, The Art Institute, and the museums. Next we would go to the theater district and attend one or more of the shows. Restaurants offer cuisine from around the world. Choices would depend on what you want at the moment, fine dinning or diners and dives. Chicago pizza is a must and could take a week to indulge in all the varieties available. The many local neigh-hood bars are not to be missed. The music scene ranges from Stadium concerts by International stars too, hard rock, blues, jazz, classical and local bands. If the weather permits we would head to the many beaches or to one of the lakefront marinas to charter a sail boat or one of the many river cruises on the Chicago river. Visiting the National parks is my favorite vacation. Leaving Chicago driving Rt 66 towards Albuquerque, NM we would stop at the Gemini Giant in Wilmington. Illinois. Crossing the Mississippi River at St Louis past the Arch way to the West is an inspiring historical site. It’s a long scenic drive to the Petrified Forest NP, AZ. We would stop and see the interesting rock formations. Driving from Amarillo Tx heading through the Carson National forest to Santa Fe, NM. We would visit many of the local galleries and eat at Jambo Cafe, At must is the key lime pie for desert. The visit the Ghost ranch where Georgia O’keefe lived and painted. Then head north to Taos to visit the many galleries here and to paint Plein Air. A must see stop is the Grand Canyon for it’s amazing grandeur and hiking or rafting. Then to Page, Az for the most photographed slot canyon, Antelope Canyon on the Navaho nation lands. If we can get a backcountry permit we would book a excursion with an outfitter to The Wave. From there we would travel to Zion NP, in Utah. The grandeur and colors of the rocks are not to be missed. On ward to Moab, UT where we would visit Canyonlands, NP. Our last stop would be The Colorado National Monument, in Grand Junction, CO. Finally heading back to Chicago. Visiting the National parks is my favorite vacation. Leaving Chicago driving Rt 66 towards Albuquerque, NM we would stop at the Gemini Giant in Wilmington. Illinois. Crossing the Mississippi River at St Louis past the Arch way to the West is an inspiring historical site. It’s a long scenic drive to the Petrified Forest NP, AZ. We would stop and see the interesting rock formations. Driving from Amarillo Tx heading through the Carson National forest to Santa Fe, NM. We would visit many of the local galleries and eat at Jambo Cafe, At must is the key lime pie for desert. The visit the Ghost ranch where Georgia O’keefe lived and painted. Then head north to Taos to visit the many galleries here and to paint Plein Air. A must see stop is the Grand Canyon for it’s amazing grandeur and hiking or rafting. Then to Page, Az for the most photographed slot canyon, Antelope Canyon on the Navaho nation lands. If we can get a backcountry permit we would book a excursion with an outfitter to The Wave. From there we would travel to Zion NP, in Utah. The grandeur and colors of the rocks are not to be missed. On ward to Moab, UT where we would visit Canyonlands, NP. Our last stop would be The Colorado National Monument, in Grand Junction, CO. Finally heading back to Chicago.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Marikay Peter Witlock
Website: susanfrancesjohnson.com
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