Daree Johnson Interview

I came across Daree not so long ago when I watched an art talk she did with Milan Art Institute a few weeks ago. I was so inspired and impressed with the tips she gave as well as motivated with my own work so I decided to check hers out, and wow! Her art is so beautiful and she has such a lovely studio haha.

Daree was so kind as to answer a few more questions with me for me to share with you all. You can read her interview below.

Nadine: What's your name, where are you from and what do you do?

Daree: Daree Johnson, I'm from Atlanta Georgia, and I'm a visual artist, painting with mixed media and oil.

N: Did you always want to be an artist? Did you come from an artistic family?

D: I knew that I always wanted to be a creator of some sort. I learned many different ways to create as a child. Knitting, crochet, sewing, drawing, clothing design, music, painting, dance, sculpting, and many more, were all things that I experimented with as a child. I wouldn't say that my family was artistic, but my dad could draw cars, and my mom and grandmother tried many different crafts over the years. I believe it was my family's resourcefulness and DIY attitude that fed my need to be creative.

N: You studied the Mastery Program at Milan Art Institute which is something that I am planning on studying myself this year! What was your experience on the course and what were some of your favourite lessons you learned over that time?

D: Congratulations! That's a huge step! My experience with the Mastery Program was life changing to say the least. The course starts off with building a solid foundation of drawing and oil painting skills and techniques, then you move onto the experimental phase with mixed media, finding your voice through finding yourself, and putting it all together to go into your portfolio. It's a beautiful process that is very thoughtfully put together so that each lesson builds on previous lessons. My favorite lessons were in the voice section. I desperately needed to know my true self, without the baggage of what I learned to be over the years of conforming to what society expected. This was where the life changing experience happened for me.

N: Walk us through a day in your life.

D: A typical work day for me is to wake up at 7am and beginning my morning routine of stream of conscious writing, checking in with my mentor students, and doing a quick check in with all the areas of my business. Then I paint until noon, when I take my lunch break and go for a 30 minute walk. Around 1pm, I come back to painting until 5 or 6pm. I make dinner and clean house for an hour, then back to work with answering emails, planning sources, business planning and any other admin work unitl 10 pm when I go to bed. This is just my block schedule, in the middle of all these, I often am interrupted with errands or phone calls, posting to social media, prepping canvas and the normal day to day things.

N: How do you start your paintings? Do you have a sketchbook that you keep all your ideas? Tell us about your process.

D: I don't have a set way that I start a painting, I like to keep things interesting. I love my sketchbook, maybe one day I will decide to share it, it feels really personal at the moment, but I do often start there for the layout and inspiration, especially with mark making. My process begins with putting down inks and mark making which I find so much joy in, and then I move onto the forms and painting. My process is exciting and like a puzzle that I haven't seen the picture on the box. I don't know what is going to come of it, and it keeps me on the edge of my seat waiting for it to reveal itself.

N: What has been the highlight of your art career so far?

D: I was in a juried show where the people that attended opening night were able to vote on the paintings, I didn't win, but there was this little tiny girl, maybe 5 or 6 who walked up to mine, stared at it for a whole minute and then looked up to her dad and said "this one" and checked mine on her paper. It still makes me cry when I think about it, I don't know that anything could beat that pure moment when I realized how art can affect people.

N: What do you want people to take away from your work? How do you describe your work?

D: I describe my work as uplifting and joyful! I want collectors to add a feeling of encouragement and possibility to their space with my artwork.

N: What tips can you give an aspiring artist?

D: My biggest, best tip, is to have a positive mindset. Speak positive words over yourself, your artwork, and others. Especially when you don't believe it or feel it. Say it anyways.

My second tip is to make it about the process and not the finished artwork. The process is what we do this job for, the act of creating, always always remember this! Creating for the process is what will sustain you as an artist and keep your work looking fresh and connecting with people.

Thanks Daree!

Visit: www.dareejohnson.com