 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2004 by F. Geoffrey Johnson
All Rights Reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper, without permission in writing from the publisher.
May 25, 2006 Johnson began painting with acrylics on canvas. Having worked artistically with wood and carpet over the past twenty plus years he felt a call to paint. As he often states, “….the hardest part was going to the paint store…..” Knowing practically nothing about mediums, brushes, etc. Johnson went to Binder’s Art Store in Atlanta, GA. Asking salespeople what materials would be needed in order to get started Johnson bought his first acrylic paint and brushes. It didn’t dawn on him until the following morning he needed canvases. It took six days of going back and forth buying supplies before he first laid brush to canvas. His first painting, Copper Mountain, was an attempt to use every color he purchased just to see what they did and how they reacted.
After only a year of painting he was selected by jury as one of an elite group of emerging artists by the City of Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs for their 2007 Atlanta Jazz Festival emerging artists exhibition. His work has been awarded in group art exhibitions and has begun to find its way into art collectors homes and offices.
Johnson currently presides as president of African Americans for the Arts, Atlanta, GA, a ten year old community arts organization of over sixty Atlanta based artists, several of whom are nationally and internationally recognized.
It was a natural progression to explore painting as a viable alternative means of expression in order to convey the stories I am allowed to share. As a storyteller, I use painting as a second language. The cliché “a picture is worth a thousand words” is so true. Sometimes words are not sensitive or expressive enough in conveying feelings and oft times get in the way.
I enjoy the mystery of painting because I am surprised as a painting emerges. I often begin with no idea of what will be painted, only a prayer that I may become a conduit for expressing a story that may touch others in a positive and/or thought provoking way. It is amazing to find the similarities in writing and painting. Both processes begin with empty slates yearning for stories in need of finding their target.
... journey, not destination, is the treasure...