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www.jayjjohnson.com
A GALLERY OF
ORIGINAL PAINTINGS
BY JAY J. JOHNSON
: PAINTING GALLERY
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Jay J. Johnson Art Studio
Phone: 978-468-3286
E-mail: jjlmjohnson@comcast.net
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Painting is a lifelong journey of exploration.
An artist is an observer of life and his art is a reflection of what
he sees, who he is, and what he has learned.
Below are some of my recent paintings, showing the range of what I'm currently
working on. Birds and mammals continue to be the main focus of my art, as
they have been since I began painting more than a decade ago. “Light” and
its effects on color continue to fascinate me. My goal now is to convey motion
through the energy of brush-strokes. Wild animals spend much of their lives
moving, flying, walking, running, swimming or hopping. And brush-strokes
can convey this action in a way no photograph ever can. A painting can bring
the spirit of an animal to life. The richness of pigments in oil paint and thoughtful
control of values and edges can create an illusion of reality that far surpasses any
image captured mechanically. During my daily efforts at the studio easel I try to
funnel all that I know and love about wild creatures into works of art.
I hope you enjoy your visit to my gallery. While you’re here, take the time to
open some of the other sections of this web site. In ADVENTURES IN NATURE
you’ll find a showcase of my landscape photography along with descriptions
of some memorable travel experiences. In ARTIST’S HISTORY you’ll learn
how and why I became an artist, along with details on how I actually create
my paintings. EARLY ARTWORK is a colorful selection of my paintings dating
back to 1990. For paintings done between 1997- 2000 see: EARLY ARTWORK.
BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS shows more than 60 water-media paintings.
PRINTS is a gallery of my available limited edition prints. And MAPS
shows some examples of hand-drawn maps.
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SUN GLOWS ON THE LAND
Size: 25 X 48
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2008
Exhibition Schedule: 2008 The Art of Conservation
The Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum 9/10/08 - 12/21/08
*Awarded the Medal of Excellence*
Artist's Comments: A landscape in which the setting sun illuminates clouds surrounding a distant mountain. In the foreground a flock of ravens fly into the scene.
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ROYAL ALBATROSS APPROACHING
Size: 46 X 52
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2006
Exhibited: Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum's 2006 "Birds in Art"
Exhibtion & national museums tour
Artist's Comments: For me the gift of flight is what makes birds so fascinating, and the Royal Albatross is a
phenomenal creature to watch as it cruises the air currents above the vast ocean waters. I observed these
albatross in New Zealand where a nesting colony lures them briefly back to earth from their 11,000 mile
wanderings upon nine foot wingspans across the southern seas.
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LEAST TERN
Size: 12 X 20
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2006 Private Collection
Exhibited: Bennington Center for the Arts' 2007 "Art of the Animal Kingdom," Bennington, Vermont
Artist's Comments: During the breeding season a colony of Least Terns is roped off by the Trustees of
Reservations on Crane's Beach just a fifteen minute drive from where I live. Weighing just one
ounce, these small terns migrate from the northern coast of South America to lay their
eggs in a slight depression scraped in the sand.
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RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD
Size: 6.75 X 11.25
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2007
Exhibition Schedule: 2007 Society of Animal Artists' Annual Exhibition,
The Wildlife Experience museum, Parker, Colorado 10/19/07 - 2/17/08
Artist's Comments: How fast do a hummingbird's wings beat?
The answer is more than twenty times per second. Multiplied by
one minute, that number soars to 1200. In one hour, a hummingbird
may beat its wings a staggering 72,000 times. Their rate energy
consumption is legendary. In this painting a male Rufous Hummingbird
has been perching on a limb resting briefly in the sunshine - before
dashing off to refuel on calorie-rich nectar.
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RUDDY TURNSTONES
Size: 12 X 20
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2007
Exhibited: 2008 Society of Animal Artists' Annual Exhibition
*Awarded the Director's Choice Award*
Birds of America Exhibition, Lexington, MA 2007
Artist's Comments: Turnstones are named for their habit of turning over stones and other
debris along the ocean's shoreline as they search for food. They've been clocked at 25 - 35 miles
per hour, and fly far north to the Arctic to nest and raise their young. I happened to be
standing on a beach at Fort De Soto State Park in Florida when I saw these three individuals fly past.
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MOURNING DOVE FLIGHT
Size: 15 X 16
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2006 Private Collection
Exhibited: 2006 Society of Animal Artists Annual Exhibition & museums tour
Artist's Comments: Everyday spent in my studio I observe these doves feeding outside the
large window to my left. Any sudden movement from me always causes them to "explode"
upward, sometimes a dozen at a time. Mourning Doves are abundant here in New England,
benefiting from the broken forest of developed areas where they haunt the clearings
and take advantage of birdseed scattered on the ground beneath bird-feeders.
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ASPEN CHICKADEE
Size: 12 X 19
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2005 Price: $3,200
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CHICKADEE LANDING
Size: 8 X 13
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2006 Private Collection
Artist's Comments: Outside my studio window during the autumn and winter
months a close flock of chickadees, nuthatches, and titmice visit my feeding stations every
few hours from dawn till dusk. Their movements are constant, always fluttering,
landing, and taking off in a hurry. Chickadees beat their wings up to 27 times per second.
By day, even in the coldest weather, they maintain a body temperature of 107 degrees,
meaning their energy demands are high, but at night they conserve calories by dropping it to 86.
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CARDINAL
Size: 13 X 17
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2004 Private Collection
Society of Animal Artists National Exhibition Tour 2004 - 2005
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KINGBIRD
Size: 9 X 17
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2004 Private Collection
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OKLAHOMA CLIFF SWALLOWS
Size: 9 X 12
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2004 Private Collection
Exhibited: Gilcrease Museum's "American Art in Miniature 2004," Tulsa, Oklahoma
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GOLDFINCH FLYING
Size: 11 X 11
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2003
Permanent Collection of Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin
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CHICKADEE
Size: 6 X 8
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2005 Private Collection
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WESTERN DOVE
Size: 9 X 12
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2003 Private Collection
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FOREST FLIGHT
Size: 12 X 20
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2004 Private Collection
Exhibited: "AMERICAN BIRDS: A Flight Through Time," The Wildlife Experience, Parker, Colorado
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NUTHATCH II
Size: 9 X 10
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2004 Private Collection
Exhibited: Oil Painters of America Exhibition 2004, Howard/Mandville Gallery, Washington
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TITMOUSE
Size: 7 X 11.5
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2003
Exhibited: Bennington Center for the Arts' "Art of the Animal Kingdom Exhibition," in Bennington, VT
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NUTHATCH
Size: 8 X 8
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2003
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DOWNY WOODPECKER
Size: 10 X 10.5
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2006
Artist's Comments: When a Downy Woodpecker finishes searching one tree trunk it "dives"
downward and over to the next. In its search for food the woodpecker uses its extremely
long worm-like tongue to probe nooks & crannies in the bark for insects.
I hang a wire basket of suet to keep these birds coming back to my feeding area.
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FOX RUNNING
Size: 14 X 24
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2003 Private Collection
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WOLF RUN
Size: 18 X 26
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2003
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BISON JUMP
Size: 16 X 24
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2003
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DEER JUMP
Size: 14 X 20
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2003 Private Collection
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BIGHORN WALK
Size: 20 X 16
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2003
Exhibited at the Society of Animal Artist' 2003 Annual Exhibition
Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum, Oradell, New Jersey
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WOLF RUN
Size: 12 X 9
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2003
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FOX RUN
Size: 10 X 18
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2003 Private Collection
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ALEXANDER
Size: 8.5 X 13
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2003 Collection of the Artist
Artist's Comment: One of the very few portraits I've ever done.
This is my son Alex who I, with my wife Lori, adopted in December 2003.
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BLUE JAY
Size: 8 X 12
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2004 Private Collection
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GOLDFINCH
Size: 6 X 8
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2005 Private Collection
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CHICKADEE BLACK-CAP
Size: 5 X 8
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2006
Permanent Collection of the Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, VT
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ALEX
Size: 8 X 8
Medium: Oil on Belgian Linen
Date: 2007 Collection of the Artist
Artist's Comment: "My son Alex at 4 years old."
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