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www.jayjjohnson.com
A GALLERY OF
ORIGINAL PAINTINGS
BY JAY J. JOHNSON
: ARTIST'S HISTORY
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Jay J. Johnson Art Studio
Phone: 978-468-3286
E-mail: jjlmjohnson@comcast.net
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Biography
Jay J. Johnson resides in America's northeast and travels widely
across the North American continent. His family ancestry includes close
ties to the Maine woods, and the Atlantic seacoast of Massachusetts
(where he grew up on a wave-bound peninsula). His knowledge of
wildlife comes from traversing thousands of miles of American wilderness.
When he was just seventeen years of age he climbed all 48 of the
highest peaks in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, becoming the
youngest person to do so in one continuous trek. Since then he has
walked and paddled through virtually every environment in America
from mountain tops to river valleys to arid deserts. He has sea-kayaked
extensively along both the Pacific coast and the Atlantic coasts. He
has also hiked both the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail,
totaling 4700 miles. He has bicycled 3,000 miles across the
southwestern deserts of the United States; and driven many thousands
of miles more along western back-country roads in search of his wildlife
subjects. In the early 1980's he completed a solo wilderness trek
spanning sixteen months, covering 10,000 miles around America (featured
in more than fifty newspapers nationwide).
At Cornell University he studied both Art and Natural History, gaining
an in-depth scientific knowledge of his wild subjects while at the same time
learning the fundamentals of Traditional and Modern Art.
Working today in his studio, Johnson follows the time-honored tradition
of painting with oils on fine linen, capturing the movement, spirit and realism
of American wildlife. His paintings have become part of private collections
nationwide through western galleries in Arizona, California, Colorado,
Oklahoma, and Wyoming, and eastern galleries in Connecticut, Florida,
Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Vermont.
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Wilderness Research Trips:
ADVENTURES IN NATURE (Click to see photos & story)
For me the greatest joy is being out-of-doors.
In ADVENTURES IN NATURE, you can read and see photographs of my outdoors
adventures dating back to the 1960's.
Whether it's kayaking the coast of British Columbia, hiking the Appalachian Trail, or
exploring Belize, I've never been disappointed by what I've found!
Artist's History
1990 Early Artwork (click to see the art)
My initiation to painting full time began in 1990 when I finished my
first wildlife painting titled "Kit Fox at White Sands." Several months
went into it, and then the jurors at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
saw it and decided to include it in their new show, Wildlife: The Artist's View -
followed by a tour to other museums around the country. (For info on the
museum click here.)
Kit Fox at White Sands (my first wildlife painting)
My approach at this time was from a naturalist's point of view. I had
graduated from Cornell University with a degree in the natural sciences, and
had completed a 10,000 mile trek, exploring the natural environments of the
U.S., spending 16 months hiking, paddling, and bicycling. I had always (from
my earliest childhood recollections) been able to draw and paint, but now I
realized that there were people who actually earned a living by painting
pictures of animals. The acceptance at Leigh Yawkey inspired me to create more
paintings, and within a few months I was voted in as new member of the Society
of Animal Artists, an international organization whose focus is on depicting animals
in two-dimensional and sculptural art.
During these early years my “Art” continued to be governed by strong
feelings I had as a naturalist and scientist, which meant imbuing each painting
with fine details. Lichens growing on rocks were not only fascinating because
of their visual patterns, but because of their symbiotic relationship of plant and
fungi living together as one.
Close-up from an early painting showing the detail of lichens and rock
When I looked at a leaf and noticed a ball-shaped bulge on its
under-surface, I felt it was important to paint that detail because I knew that a
parasitic wasp larva was living inside. My knowledge of Nature outweighed my
knowledge of Art. Details and fine-pointed brushes were the order of the day.
Fortunately this type of Art was sought after by art collectors and within one year
of completing Kit Fox at White Sands I was working closely with America’s leading
publisher of “fine-art-prints.” The Greenwich Workshop wanted to make limited
edition reproductions of my paintings and sell them through their network of
galleries across America and Canada. For the next five years I worked under
their direction, creating paintings for this venue.
Wolf Creek (limited edition print) published by The Greenwich Workshop
As my knowledge of the Art World began to catch up with my knowledge
of the Natural World, I began to look beyond the genre of wildlife art to discover
other painting techniques that would convey how I felt about wild creatures.
My appetite for studying and learning about other artists’ work was insatiable,
and my library of art books covered the whole gamut of styles and periods. By
1996 I was prepared to embark on a new course and direction, to experiment
with a new media that would allow me more freedom. I chose acrylic paints
because of their rapid drying time. I had been using slow-drying oils for five years
and now appreciated acrylics ability to dry within minutes, to layer on the paint and
create translucent glazes that would have taken days or weeks with oils. I developed
a method of building up texture on the panel’s surface with plaster and acrylic paste
on top of which I layered thin paint. Texture became a new passion, and I even went
so far as to glue pebbles onto the surface to simulate the ground where a fox or quail
would stand.
Close-up of an acrylic painting (showing texture)
Foxfire 20 X 24 acrylic (exhibited at Artists of America, 1998)
In 1998 I was invited to participate in the “Artists of America Exhibition” in
Denver. This was an auspicious occasion on which to show my new acrylic works for
the first time. Not only did the paintings sell, but the number of ballots cast for my
paintings was second only to one other artist. I went home with renewed enthusiasm
and set to work at a pace that far exceeded anything I had accomplished in oil paints.
Over the next two years I envisioned, produced, framed and sold more than 100
paintings.
Close-up of acrylic painting
During the spring of 2000 as one of my acrylics was featured on the cover of
Southwest Art magazine, the leading publication on realism in the American west, I
began once again to experiment with Oils. My desire to capture animals in motion
was at odds with the acrylic medium. It seems that the very thing that had attracted
me to acrylics was now the major drawback: the quick drying time. When you put a
brush-stroke down with acrylic, it sticks. Put a brush-stroke down with oil paint and
it can be moved, manipulated, and blended in hundred different ways. Moving animals
required a moving medium. And so I returned to Oils.
Rufous Hummingbird oil 6.75 X 11.25
Close-up of an oil painting
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OBSERVATION
Jay J. Johnson in Labrador 2009 (photo by Rob Mullen)
To paint you must first be an observer. Over the past twenty five years
as I’ve traveled all over America, I’ve been privileged to witness an
abundance and diversity of living things. There’s no substitute for
being there in the natural environment. My approach toward painting
has been from the perspective of one who understands ecosystems and
biology. At an early age I formed a bond with Nature that has led me
to study the intricacies of plants and animals. At Cornell University I
focused on both the scientific and aesthetic aspects. The natural
environment which surrounds all of us has evolved over millions of years.
Our species, Homo sapiens, evolved within this environment; in close
touch with its wild inhabitants. Some of the earliest paintings that Man
ever produced are the cave paintings depicting wild prey animals.
Today there is a definite separation between Man and Nature. Americans
today view more wildlife on TV than in person. As an artist who depicts
these subjects I have made every effort to bridge this gap in my own
personal life. This is why I’ve made journeys that involve traversing
thousands of miles of wilderness areas, and spending months at a time
sleeping out under the stars; to slow down long enough; to be an observer.
Adventures in Nature
Click to read about the wilderness trips (1960 - 2008)
PLANNING
Everyday while I’m at work in my studio I think of more ideas for paintings
than I’ll ever have time paint. There is so much in Nature that I could convey.
And I have so much enthusiasm for it all. The task (or job) is to filter out what
I feel the most emotion for, and then concentrate on those aspects. Within
arms reach of my easel is a six foot high window that looks out over a wooded
wetland. On any given day there will be chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, juncos,
sparrows, and cardinals feeding just outside the glass. Further off are rambunctious
squirrels. Each season brings variations here in New England; in winter I can see
deer against white snow among bare branches; in summer a family of woodchucks
moves in. It’s the movement and the change that catches my attention. I’ve been
focusing on that. For me the natural world is always moving - whether it’s birds
flying or deer walking or leaves blowing in the wind. There’s always something
moving and changing. Clouds drifting across the sky block out the sun and instantly
alter the lighting of whole forests.
Deliberately my paintings seek to capture movement.
the changing seasons (details from my paintings)
Spring Summer Autumn Winter
PREPARATION
Museum professionals have found that most of the damages of aging that so many
oil paintings have experienced over past centuries are due to the surface on which
they were painted. Oil paint is not flexible when it dries; it becomes a thin brittle
layer supported by whatever it was painted on. Science and technology have shown
us that linen canvas and its surface preparation (rabbit skin glue) absorb atmospheric
moisture, and consequently expand and contract with changing humidity. Also
canvas that is initially stretched tight between stretcher bars (as most paintings were)
loses its tautness over time. These contributing factors explain why most historic
paintings that we see in museums are etched with fine cracks.
Close-up of a historic painting showing network of cracks
Before I begin painting I create a solid surface by "mounting" the linen by hand
with archival adhesive on the highest quality hardwood panel that is moisture resistant.
The texture of the Belgian linen is still excellent, as it has been for centuries since the
early Europeans first learned how to make it by extracting the long fibers of the flax
plant. From this same plant is extracted the oil with which oil paints are primarily
composed. The fabric was named "linen" and the oil was named "linseed." Both from
the same plant crop. The irony is that linseed oil must never come in direct contact
with linen. A thin layer of gesso must always separate the two parts of the plant.
(Linseed oil causes linen to break down.)
PAINTING
Painting should always be a challenge. The goal is set toward expanding your
knowledge and creativity. It should become a lifelong journey to explore.
This pretty much sums up my outlook. My personality doesn’t allow me to take
the easy route. I have always been pushing forward, improving, and evolving. Like
when I traverse hundreds of miles of rugged terrain through the wilderness. I like to
work hard, push ahead, and explore new territory. Life is too short to sit still in the
same spot and be idle.
photo from the Boston Globe 1997
On this web site you’ll find two sections that show some of my earlier paintings
from as far back as 1990. You can see exactly where I’ve been and where I am presently
going. My artwork began with the realistic painting of Nature and continues to focus on
that. Along the way I moved from carefully executed paintings in oils to more
impressionistic acrylic paintings to today’s current paintings in looser, more energetic oils.
STUDIO
My studio with 9 foot high ceiling and 6 foot high northlight window is first and
foremost a functional place to work. While the window provides a lot of light,
I also rely on a combination of overhead "daylight fluorescent lamps" and
"halogen lamps" to simulate the different lighting conditions under which my
painting might be seen (such as "natural" light, "gallery & museum" light,
and "home" light). The rolling painting table in the front center (decorated
with silk plants and flowers) contains all my paints, brushes and tools, and
has a built-in-pallette. It allows me to position all these working materials
exactly where I need them next to the easel which I built myself. I have a lot
of silk plants hanging around the studio which combined with the view out
the window give me the feeling of being outdoors while I paint. I often have sounds
of nature playing on the CD stereo system - sounds as diverse as insects of Borneo,
frogs of the Amazon, bird calls of New Zealand, as well as all the familiar sounds
of North America's natural environments. In the front right is a 24" LCD computer
monitor. On the shelves above are some of my art books, and paper supplies. To
the left are floor-to-ceiling cabinets the whole length of a 24 foot wall (only part
of which is shown in the photo). These contain everything I need to work with.
Wildlife action on the windowsill
My cat "Scout" faces off with a squirrel on the
otherside of the glass.
The "studio" is only one third of the entire space, the other areas contain storage
racks for paintings in progress (I have dozens in various stages of completion), all
sorts of frames, and shipping materials. Of course my cat (pictured on the floor)
has free range over everything. When he was younger he would carry paint brushes
in his mouth up the stairs at night and lay them at the foot of my bed.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Animals do not remain stationary for long, and it’s not possible to do a painting
entirely from memory. No one can sketch or paint fast enough to capture
accurately a moving animal in the wild. Early artists such as Audubon solved
this problem by shooting their subjects with a gun. They brought the animal
back to the studio to be propped up and posed for however long it took to paint
the motionless specimen.
My camera equipment (2009)
Photography has opened a lot of new possibilities. Today’s digital cameras
combined with precision telephoto lenses and image-stabilization can accurately
capture the natural movements of animals, their living colors, and surrounding
environments in ways that could only be imagined just decades ago. Since 1973
when my parents first gave me a 35mm single-lens-reflex camera in my early
teens, I have been photographing everything I see outdoors, from the tiniest
insects to the largest mountains. At a young age I became fluent in camera
jargon such as f-stops, shutter speeds, and depth-of-field. Over the years I have
accumulated tens of thousands of 35mm slides, all of which are precisely catalogued
and stored so that they are available for use in my paintings. Scanning these into
a computer has further enhanced this archive for painting possibilities. Today I
download images directly from my digital camera’s memory cards. Even more
valuable to me now is a Digital Camcorder which can capture whole sections of
time during which an animal may be running or flying. Back in my studio I can
view the entire episode on a computer monitor in ultra-slow motion to “capture”
whatever images I find most interesting using special software.
Carolina Wren taking off from my bird-feeding area outside my studio window
In traditional Art genres (such as still-life, landscape, and portraiture) the
use of photography has often been frowned upon. In these genres the artist typically
positions himself in front of a motionless subject and paints what he sees with his
eyes. This is fine if you intend to limit your interests to only that which can be easily
seen. But if you want to create paintings of such elusive subjects as wild animals,
then you need to utilize more sophisticated techniques. People unfamiliar with
photography in painting often assume that the artist positions himself in front of a
photograph as he would a still-life and simply copies what he sees in a single photograph.
This is hardly the case.
My approach is to first have to review what images I have on file, looking for that
indefinable something that sparks my interest enough to want to paint it. Let's say it
involves a particular species of bird in flight. Most often it is the position or posture of a
bird combined with the right illumination, like a ballet dancer on stage making a
beautiful shape or movement beneath the spotlights. From this I draw my initial concept.
The digital resolution is often low on Camcorder images, so I have to search my image
archive for other shots which can be used to “re-construct” parts of the bird. It may
require half a dozen photos to paint a single bird. If the head is blurred or fuzzy,
for example, I'll need to find an image that shows the bird's head from the same angle
in better detail, or if its wings are out of focus, then I'll need photos of wing feathers.
The background often takes form on the painting surface, but sometimes it may evolve
in a sketch as I explore what abstract colors and shapes work best with the shape of the
bird. I generally like to keep the background "loose" and "abstract" because that’s how
the human eye sees it when motion is fast. Visible strokes of a brush add energy and life.
With the background generally painted and the bird positioned, I start considering what
plants might likely be seen in this species' environment. Again this requires a search through
my visual files until some possible candidates found. I try them out, one by one. I make
adjustments. I may alter the background. I may re-arrange the plants. I may even move the
bird or alter the colors. The process of painting “from photographs” is very different from
painting what is in right in front of you. On the one hand you have a stationary and tangible
set of objects. On the other hand you have fragments of ideas that must be pieced together
to re-create something that was once glimpsed and felt.
Plein air painting in Labrador (2009). (A good example of the traditional approach
to painting a particular subject.)
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National Exhibitions
At the Artists of America opening 1998
Exhibition List
GREAT AMERICAN ARTISTS
Cincinnati, Ohio 2001
Great American Artists exhibition held at The Cincinnati Club
ARTISTS OF AMERICA
Colorado History Museum, Denver, Colorado 1998
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WILDLIFE ART
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Western Visions Exhibition: 2001, 2000, '99, '98, '97, '95, '94, '93, '92, '91
GILCREASE MUSEUM
Tulsa, Oklahoma
American Art in Miniature Exhibition: 2008, '07, 2'06, '04, '01, '00, 1999
LEIGH YAWKEY WOODSON ART MUSEUM
Wausau, Wisconsin 2006, 2003, 1998, '93, '92, '91, '90
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2006 Birds in Art Exhibtion & National Tour: The Wildlife Experience,
Parker, CO; Lindsay Wildlife Museum, Walnut Creek, CA; R.W. Norton Art Gallery,
Shreveport, LA
2003 Birds in Art Exhibtion & National Tour: Lindsay Wildlife Museum,
Walnut Creek, CA
1998 Birds in Art Exhibtion & National Tour: Museum of the Southwest,
Midland, Texas; Lindsay Wildlife Museum, Walnut Creek, CA; Deleware Museum of
Natural History, Wilmington, DE
1993 Natural Wonders Exhibtion & National Tour: Anniston Museum of
Natural History, Anniston, AL; Fort Morgan Museum, Fort Morgan, CO; Rockport
Center for the Arts, Rockport, TX; Parkersburg Art Center, Parkersburg, WV; Gallery
of Sporting Art, Genesee County Museum, Mumford, NY; Lake Whales Museum,
Lake Wales, FL
1992 Birds in Art Exhibtion & National Tour: Buffalo Museum of
Science, Buffalo, NY; The Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA;
The High Desert Museum, Bend, OR
1991 Birds in Art Exhibtion & National Tour: American Museum of
Natural History, New York, NY; The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury,
MD; Washington State Historical Society, Tacoma, WA
1990 Wildlife: The Artist's View Exhibtion & National Tour:
Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY; Krasl Art Center,
St. Joseph, Michigan; The R.W. Norton Art Gallery, Shreveport, LA;
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH; Grassmere
Wildlife Park, Nashville, TN; The High Desert Museum, Bend, OR
SOCIETY OF ANIMAL ARTISTS
ANNUAL EXHIBITIONS: 2009, '08, '07, '06, '04, '03, '00,
1999, 97, '96, '93, '91, '90
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2009 National Exhibition
2008 National Exhibition
2007 National Exhibition & National Museum Tour: The Wildlife
Experience, Parker, CO; West Valley Art Museum, Surprise, AZ; Spartanburg Art
Museum, Spartanburg, SC; Zanesville Art Center, Zanesville, OH; Arizona-Sonora
Desert Museum Art Institute, Tucson, AZ
2006 National Exhibition & National Museum Tour: The Wildlife
Experience, Parker, CO; West Valley Art Museum, Surprise, AZ; Bergstrom-Maher
Museum, Neenah, WI; Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, NC
2004 National Exhibition & National Museum Tour: Hiram Blauvelt
Art Museum, Oradell, NJ; Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences, Peoria, IL;
West Valley Art Museum, Surprise, AZ; Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural
History, Norman, OK; University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE; The Art
Institute at the Arizona-Sonora desert Museum, Tucson, AZ
2000 National Exhibition & National Museum Tour: Academy Art
Museum, Easton, MD; Burpee Museum of Natural History, Rockford, IL; University
of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE; Corpus Christi Museum of Science and
History, South Texas Institute for the Arts, Corpus Christi, TX
1999 National Exhibition & National Museum Tour: Cleveland
Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH; Burpee Museum of Natural
History, Rockford, IL; Neville Public Museum, Green Bay, WI; Utah Museum
of Natural History, Salt Lake City, UT; RW Norton Art Gallery, Shreveport, LA
1997 National Exhibition & National Museum Tour: Fort Hayes
Metropolitan Educational Center, Columbus, OH, Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum, NJ
1996 National Exhibition & National Museum Tour: The Witte
Museum, San Antonio, TX; The Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh,
PA; Neville Public Museum, Green Bay, WI; The R.W. Norton Art Gallery,
Shreveport, LA; Delaware Museum of Natural History, Wilmington, DE
1993 National Exhibition & National Museum Tour: Washington
State Historical Society, Tacoma, WA,; University of Nebraska State Museum,
Lincoln, NE; The Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, Pine Bluff,
AR; The Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA; The High
Desert Museum, Bend, OR
1991 National Exhibition & National Museum Tour: The Cleveland
Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH; Virginia Museum of Natural History,
Martinsville, VA; The Witte Museum, San Antonio, TX; San Bernardino County
Museums, Redlands, CA; Anniston Museum of Natural History, Anniston, AL
1990 National Exhibition & National Museum Tour: St. Hubert's
Giralda Animal Art Museum, Madison, NJ; Science Museum of Virginia,
Richmond, VA; Glen Helen Nature Preserve, Yellow Spring, OH; Denver Museum
of Natural History, Denver, CO; Bloomington Park District Museum, Chicago, IL
U.S. EMBASSY, MOSCOW, Russia
1992 - 1991
MASTERWORKS IN MINIATURE
Gallery One, Mentor, Ohio
2009, 2008, '07, '06, '05, '03, '02, '01, '00, 1999, '98, '97, '96, '95,
'94, '93, '92, 91, 90
ART OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM
Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, Vermont
2007, '06, '05, '03, '01, 1998, 1997
BEST IN THE WEST ART AUCTION
Park City, Utah 2001, 2000
Exhibition held at the Grand Summit Hotel
ANIMALS IN ART
Massachusetts State House, Boston, MA 1997
ARTS FOR THE PARKS
Jackson Hole, Wyoming 2004, '03, 1997, 1990
Opening held at the Jackson Lake Lodge in the Grand
Tetons National Park, WY
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2004 Arts for the Parks Exhibition & National Museum Tour
1997 Arts for the Parks Exhibition & National Museum Tour:
Jackson Lake Lodge, Jackson, WY; Jefferson National Memorial, St. Louis,
MO; Braithwate Gallery, Cedar City, UT; Dunnegan Gallery, Bolivar, MO;
Heritage Arts, Millbury, MA; Cultural Arts, Estes park, CO; Four Seasons
Art, Hendersonville, NC
1990 Arts for the Parks Exhibition & National Museum Tour:
Cumberland Mueum, Nashville, TN; Santa Barbara Natural History
Museum, Santa Barber, CA; Chamizal National Monument, El Paso, TX; Frye
Art Museum, Seattle, WA
THE GREAT AMERICAN LANDSCAPE
Bighorn Galleries, CA, CO, CT, WY
1995
AMERICAN MINIATURES EXHIBITION
Settlers West Galleries, Tucson, Arizona
2001, 1994, '93, '92
MASTERVISIONS EXHIBITION
Gallery One, Mentor, Ohio
1993
MEMORIES EXHIBITION
GWS Galleries, Carmel, California
1992
AUDUBON ARTISTS' EXHIBITION
The National Arts Club, New York, NY
1991
GRAND NATIONAL EXHIBITION
Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
1991
NATIONAL FOREST CENTENIAL TOUR
Exhibition toured in Wyoming, Minnesota, and Virginia
1991
VANISHING NATURE EXHIBITION
Opening in Houston, TX; Toured to Virginia and Ontario
1990
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Magazines
SOUTHWEST ART magazine
June 2001
"Wolf-Walk" on the cover
feature article
U.S.ART magazine
December 2000
feature article
WILDLIFE ART magazine
March 2000
feature article
AMERICAN ARTIST magazine
December 1999
feature article
News Media:
Wild America Journey (1981-'82)
Evening News, Salem, MA, 6/3/81; Marblehead Reporter, Marblehead, MA, 6/4/81; Katahdin Times, Millinocket, ME, 6/23/81; Eagle Times, Claremont, NH, 7/6/81; Daily Citizen-News, Dalton, GA, 10/29/81; Pickens County Progress, Jasper, GA, 10/29/81; Alabama Journal, Montgomery, AL, 11/3/81; Daily Home, Talladega, AL, 11/11/81; Mobile Register, Mobile, AL, 11/19/81; Mobile Press, Mobile, AL, 11/19/81; Boston, Globe, Boston, MA, 11/20/81; Daily Evening Item, Lynn, MA, 11/20/81; Mississippi Press, Pascagoula, MS, 11/26/81; Daily Herald, Biloxi, MS, 11/27/81; West Bank Guide, Gretna, LA, 12/13/81; Houma Daily Courier, Houma, AL, 12/17/81; Daily Review, Morgan City, AL, 12/81; Times-Picayune, New Orleans, LA, 12/10/81; Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Sarasota, FL, 12/11/81; Orange Leader, Orange, TX, 1/13/82; Port Arthur News, Port Arthur, TX, 1/16/82; Galveston Daily News, Galveston, TX, 1/18, 22/82; The Facts, Clute, TX, 1/30/82; Houston Chronicle, Houston, TX, 2/4/82; Rockport Pilot, Rockport, TX, 2/82; Valley Morning Star, Harligen, TX, 3/2/82; Brownsville Herald, Brownsville, TX, 3/3/82; South Padre Press, Port Isabel, TX, 3/3/82; News-Guide, Eagle Pass, TX, 3/4,11/82; News-Herald, Del Rio, TX, 3/1/82; Carlsbad Current-Argus, Carlsbad, NM, 3/16/82; Artesia Daily Press, Artesia, NM, 3/82; Alamagordo Daily News, Alamagordo, NM, 3/18/82; Independent, Springerville, AZ, 3/25/82; Independent, Gallup, NM, 3/26/82; Times-Independent, Moab, UT, 4/1/82; Southern Utah News, Kanab, UT, 4/8/82; Desert Trail, San Bernardino County, CA, 4/8/82; Palo Verde Times, CA, 4/14/82; Star-News, Chula Vista, CA, 4/22/82; Hood River News, OR, 9/8/82; Boston Globe, Boston, MA, 10/11/82
Other News Media:
A BRUSH WITH NATURE, North Shore Sunday, Ipswich, MA 12/19/99
JAY J. JOHNSON, Hamilton/Wenham Chronicle, Ipswich, MA, 12/23/99
WILDLIFE ARTIST, Boston Globe, Boston, MA (full-page, 2/8/98)
"I PAINT WHAT I HAVE SEEN," Boston Globe, Boston, MA, (full-page, full-color, 5/11/97)
WILDERNESS JOURNEY, The Evening News, Salem, MA (3/19/97)
NATURE PAINTING, Marblehead & Swampscott Reporters, MA (3/6/97)
CAPTURING THE WILD, The Evening News, Salem, MA (11/21/96)
A BRUSH WITH NATURE, Beverly Citizen, Beverly, MA (11/13/96)
CALL OF THE WILD, Beverly Citizen, Beverly, MA (11/6/96)
JAY JOHNSON: AN ARTIST CAPTURES IMAGES OF WILDLIFE, Hamilton/Wenham Chronicle, MA (10/30/96)
ART AND THE ANIMAL, San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, TX (10/20/96)
JAY J. JOHNSON, Massachusetts Audubon Society, Sharon, MA (Fall 1996)
WILDLIFE FOR JAY JOHNSON, Worcester Telegram, Worcester, MA (6/30/96)
WILDLIFE ART EXHIBITION, Sanctuary, Massachusetts Audubon Society, MA (Vol. 35, No. 6, 6/96)
JAY JOHNSON'S TRAVELING ART SHOW, New England Wildlife Artists Quarterly, Millbury, MA ('96)
AN EVENING WITH WILDLIFE ARTIST JAY J. JOHNSON, WAA Spectrum, Watertown, MA (Nov. 1995)
ARRVAL OF AN ARTIST, North Shore Sunday, Ipswich, MA (3/17/91)
A REALIST NATURALLY, The Evening News, Salem, MA (2/28/91)
ANIMAL ARTISTS, Desert News, Salt Lake City, UT (Jan. 1991)
NATURE & ART: JAY J. JOHNSON, Cornell Alumni News, Ithaca, NY (12/90)
A VISUAL SAFARI, The Independent, New Providence, NJ (10/24/90)
JOHNSON'S PAINTINGS ARE ON TOUR COAST TO COAST, Marblehead Reporter, Marblehead, MA (9/20/90)
ARTIST COMPLETES TREK, Pinedale Roundup, Pinedale, WY (9/16/90)
ARTIST SPREADS INFLUENCE BEYOND TOWN'S BORDERS, The Evening News, Salem, MA (9/14/90)
BOOKS
New England NatureWatch
Hardcover, 166 pages
published by Commonwealth Editions, Beverly, MA 2003
illustrated by Jay J. Johnson with approximately 70 black & white paintings
Click to see the illustrations: BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS
About New England NatureWatch
Author, Tom Long, has distilled 6 years’ work as the Boston Globe’s "Nature Watch" columnist to
create a month-by-month "wake-up call" to the abundant life in our own backyards. Each of the 12
chapters encompasses one month, described first as an essay, then day by day in brief snapshots of
what may be transpiring somewhere in New England.
Mr. Long says of his writing: “Nature isn’t something you experience through a television; it’s
right out there in your own backyard. Those of us who are lucky enough to live in New England have
front-row seats to a full calendar of natural dramas that play themselves out every second of every day.”
Excerpts:
May 5 “Terns come in from the ocean to build their nests, little more than shallow
scrapes in the sand, on Race Point on Cape Cod.”
Dec. 22 “Out in the backyard, deep in the cold mud below the frost line, a star-nosed
mole goes about its business, tunneling after worms and slugs 20 inches
below the surface. The 6-inch-long bundle of fur acquired its name from
the fan of 22 pink tentacle-like projections radiating from its snout.”
Feb. 15 “Bobcats scream and holler like alley cats in a swamp in the Berkshires.
It’s mating season for the elusive, nocturnal predators. After courtship
and mating, the scrappy felines go their separate ways. Two to four kits
will be born in about 60 days.”
March 3 “In the highlands above Medford, Massachusetts, broad-winged hawk
just up from South America perches on top of a dead pine, where it
can survey the traffic on interstate 93 and the steel-and-glass Boston
skyline beyond.”
Readers' comments (from www.amazon.com):
“Through Mr. Long's extraordinary book I have found things out about my backyard and
surroundings that I never knew existed! The book is written in concise layman's terms
with a touch of extraordinary wit, humor and great information. The illustrations by
Mr. Johnson are great works of art that add so much to this delightful page turner.
It's up there with the Peterson's Guide and the Thesaurus. I can't wait to see another
book out by Tom Long.”
“This is a delightful book representing a lifetime of outdoor observation and thought.
It carries the liberating message that we don't have to be experts to enjoy and learn
about the natural world. It also reminds couch potatoes that though they can see
African wildlife on the TV, they can also look at their own backyards for real life
stories that are just as informative and entertaining."
BOOKS
Art from the Parks
Hardcover; 144 pages
published by Northlight Books, Cincinnati, OH 2000
Jay J. Johnson, contributer
Painting More Creatively
Paperback
published by Northlight Books, Cincinnati, OH 2000
Jay J. Johnson, contributer
Best of Wildlife Art II
Hardcover; 144 pages
published by North Light Books, Cincinnati, OH (1999)
Jay J. Johnson, contributer
Wildlife Art
Hardcover; 142 pages
published by Rockport Publishers, Gloucester, MA (1999)
Jay J. Johnson, contributer
Painting Birds
Hardcover; 136 pages
published by North Light Books, Cincinnati, OH (1996)
Jay J. Johnson, contributer
pages 46 - 51
pages 52 - 57
pages 58 - 61
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