Cheryl Johnson

All my life I have been drawing. As a child, I always looked forward to Christmas and birthdays because I knew there would be a new sketch pad and drawing materials inside the fancy wrapping paper. Art was always my favorite class in school, and in junior high and high school, I was privileged to be a student of R. Alden Burt, a wonderful teacher , mentor, illustrator, and accomplished artist.

After high school, I began painting signs, a craft I also learned from Alden Burt, who had been a sign painter before becoming a teacher. For many years, I lettered signs, billboards, and hundreds of trucks, while raising a family and working as a commercial artist. In 1981, I formed a business partnership and founded Campton Printing & Design in Campton, NH. For the next 23 years, I did signs, typesetting, page layout, logo design, desktop publishing and all of the tasks necessary to operate a printing business.

During all of that time, I continued to draw occasionally, mostly in pen and ink, and very rarely I would paint with watercolors or acrylics. I gradually developed my personal style, which consists of finely detailed renderings of birds, animals and country buildings. I also acquired a passion for digital photography, which has allowed me to create an extensive library of reference photos which I use as source material for my work.

When the printing business was sold in 2004, I continued to work as a commercial artist. I also began taking some watercolor classes and doing a lot more painting. In the spring of 2006, I decided to retire from the commercial art business and pursue my art full time. I remodeled a small barn behind my house into a comfortable, spacious studio, and spend all of my time doing what I love – drawing, painting and experimenting with lots of other media that I never had time to learn. My work is exhibited in several galleries, and will soon be featured on my website – CherylJohnsonArt.com. I am a contributing illustrator and photographer for Natural New England magazine and have begun teaching some drawing and painting classes. Life is good!

Artist’s Statement

All my life I have been drawing. I can remember the thrill in first grade when my teacher hung my drawing on the wall. I am sure it wasn’t much, but she was impressed and all of the other kids were amazed. In the fourth grade, I won second place in a national contest to draw “Big Red, ” the Irish setter star of a popular television series. The prize: a case of dog food! I sure was proud of the ribbon and certificate. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a dog, so I gave the food to a neighbor.

My second passion after art is nature. I think I became an amateur naturalist when I was very young. I was pestering my mother one day, and she got rid of me by saying “Go find an ant and follow it.” I have been following ants – and bird, reptiles, mammals, and other insects – ever since. I guess it isn’t surprising that my two loves eventually combined in my artwork.

I also love old structures – barns, sheds, covered bridges – subjects that give me the chance to work in minute detail. I am not happy until every board, every nail, every shingle has been rendered.

There is such satisfaction in taking a blank sheet of paper and turning it into a work of art. As much as I love it, though, creating art is not easy for me; it is a painful process. I begin every project with the absolute conviction that I cannot do it! Sometimes I am right, but most of the time, when I get about half way done, I look at a drawing or painting and say, “Hmmm, maybe it will be OK.” Then, if I am lucky, it turns out right at the end. Even so, I cannot bear to have any of my work hanging on my walls at home. I always want to make “just one more little change.”

As difficult as creating art can be, it is equally gratifying. There is nothing else I would rather be, and nothing I would rather be doing, than spending time in my studio (often in the wee hours of the morning) drawing, painting and generally having a wonderful time!

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