A work of art has a spirit. The spirit in these paintings is immaterial images that I arrive at through sequences of inspiration, by quieting the mind, and staying with a transitory feeling and emotion. There is an emotional aspect to the paintings that engages a mood from which my most authentic works spring forth. The process of relaxing into my own self, my own timing, favors the arrival of such images, the likes of which are translated into the visual content of my painting.
Having used this approach for some time, I can now think more conclusively, with authority about what goes into my paintings. The subject is what comes from within—but is often transformed depending on how the paint feels on the surface, opportunities that divert my original intent, challenges that lead me to break through my preconceptions of what make a painting successful.
The content is the corresponding relationships that catalyze and form continuity and begin to oscillate in the painting balancing symmetry and declination. Eventually the paintings investigate forms that interweave in detectable ways, intensify dualities or loosen into polarities. To do this without getting complicated is the trick.
I am inspired by mineral and organic derived oil paint, whose properties can be viscous, elastic and flexible. I like the luscious and aqueous fluidity of the medium and the interplay of colors that defy categorization. I work in series—in subgroups, and generally have many paintings in progress. I paint on panels that vary in size from very small to substantially large, which I prepare to specific standards.
The successful painting is one that surprises me, the felicitous arrival at something brilliant and clear, that quickens my heart.
Victoria Johnson
Curriculum Vitae
Art Work
