Saturday, July 25, 2009

Meet the Artist: Mandy Johnson, Painter


An old box of postcards sparked painter Mandy Johnson's desire to pursue a career in art. The school in her small hometown of Scotland Neck, NC, offered no art classes. Still, Mandy's parents understood the value of art education, so they turned to a local artist to teach their children the craft.

The five siblings learned to paint in oils, using a collection of fine art postcards as inspiration. It wasn't until Mandy's first college art history course that she began to recognize the famous paintings from the old postcards.

While educated in the classics, Mandy now expresses her rebellious side. "I like to break the rules", Mandy says. "Exaggeration and distortion and bold, simple color give my figures attitude."

Her paintings convey work, food, and dance; all themes stemming from her early life growing up on a farm.

"Now I find inspiration whenever I go out, take a walk, or ride my bike", she says. "Everything I see can be interpreted as shape, form and color to create a story."

No comments:

Post a Comment