teri's studio journal: Timi Johnson

Satsuma With Scissors
by Timi Johnson

today is the 17th anniversary of this blog, my Blogiversary!

If you haven't been here before, Welcome!

There are lots of posts that might be interesting for you, so take a peek.

Today, like the last two years, I have an artist interview for you

(and for me since this is my art journal).

Timi Johnson and I met in a University of Alaska, Southeast, art class over 15 years ago. We have painted together, had art exhibits together, exercised together, partied together ... you get the picture, she is a good friend.

Timi is innovative, creative, fun, a problem solver - in many ways. She is someone who I respect and admire for all the things she solves and the things she creates, and more.

So without further ado, I present -

Timi Johnson Artist interview

How do you describe your art, and how would you describe your creative self?

I describe my paintings and my efforts in art as expressive, abstracted representations. I am most interested in the liminal space between barely-legible and decisive representation. On another thought, I am as interested in the texture of the finished painting as I am in the subject, and I find that the paintings and drawings which interest me most from my past are the ones densely packed with a variety of marks. I like scratched up old antiques as well which tracks.

Gold Creek Rocks
by Timi Johnson

What is your medium of choice; say if you headed to your studio/workspace, what would you naturally pick up to create with?

Oil paint is hometown for me. So, other than a few recent forays into the water media world, the base of my work is oil paint. It combines beautifully and unpredictably with charcoal, graphite and cold wax which continue to appear in more recent works.

Where do you think your characteristic “style” comes from? Do you think your style has changed over time?

You know, there’s that aesthetic of imperfection as perfection that I’ve gravitated towards in all things that probably generates my preferred way of making. When I first conceived of painting, I followed a fundamental attraction to wet paint in color and texture. I had to find where that thing lived, and that sense of PAINT is the thing that still attracts me. In other words, I resonated with the sensations of being a painter far before I had the experience. I think my art continues to evolve toward the aesthetic that drew me initially which seems to involve increasing density and variety of mark making in addition to decisive color and energetic values.

Where are you from, and does that affect how and what you create?

I grew up in Colorado, both my parents are from the four corners region. I’ve spent lots of time in the high desert and Rocky Mountains though most of my painting life has been here in Juneau. I wasn’t intentionally exposed to art or painters growing up, but I’ve always been a creative. I guess maybe the light of the high desert and the light of southeast Alaska have been particularly inspirational for painting. I bet most landscape artists describe light as source.

Who are your most important artistic influences?

I think I’m working backwards here from my nascent and uneducated impression of “oil painters” as I described earlier to the artists which represent how I think things should go. So, you know Fechin, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Diebenkorn, Frankenthaler, Giacometti, Cassat. Currently I’m drawn to densely mark making artists like Jordan Wolfson, Frank Auerbach (RIP), and the broader group including Russian Impressionists. There are some very evocative landscape artists using cold wax and charcoal who I have been following on IG/ FB as well. The colors of Ingrid Christensen. The list goes on and on, happily.

What are the most 1- difficult and 2- easy aspects to your work?

1 - Difficult. Okay, I’m a hyper and energetic person. What I enjoy most is the zone flow of being in a really good and dynamic painting session. For me, this takes some planning and forethought which isn’t the fun and bouncy part. The difficult part for me is slowing down in order to get to that bouncy-fun-part, which requires some amount of reasonable planning in an uncluttered mental and physical space.

2 - Easy. I’m not afraid to put down thick, strong colors or textures, I don’t need to keep everything I make. I find inspiration easily and with some basic planning can usually achieve an acceptable painting. I don’t get bogged down very often by my past paintings, I understand they are signposts of my journey and describe me when I was there.

Does your art help you in other areas of your life?

That’s a fish consuming it’s tail isn’t it? I found painting and it found me. I have new eyes; I see paintings everywhere. Painting has brought me deep and abiding friendships. It has expanded my world in multiple dimensions. It helps design my travel and adventures. I love everything about it. I don’t regret for a minute giving up my treasured well-paying career as a physical therapist to hurl myself at this endeavor.