Alli Johnston is a watercolour painter. Alli’s had her own solo show in the Rotary Arts Centre, participated in group shows with LAWN (The League of Artists of Western Newfoundland), and is just an overall awesome human being. A few months ago I had the opportunity to interview her about her process as an artist and what drives her to continue to create her dream like watercolour paintings.
“I feel as though art should be about making whatever it is that you feel like making, and if anyone likes it that’s a bonus.”
JB: How did you get into creating art?
AJ: I had a really creative childhood making arts and crafts. My mom always had craft supplies and we were always encouraged to be making things. My mom sewed a lot, my dad was really into photography, and I have an aunt who’s like a second mother to me who taught me how to knit. My family was always making stuff whether it was with wood or fabric. Nobody painted though. I didn’t have any formal art training growing up. I think I was 30 before I started painting.
JB: Were you taught in school?
AJ: I would say we were more taught creativity as opposed to art. I can remember one art project in grade seven or eight where we had to create a pattern, I made a very geometric, orderly pattern, and I remember my teacher gave me a really bad mark on it and said it wasn’t creative enough. I’ll sometimes think about that and I feel as though art should be about making whatever it is that you feel like making, and if anyone likes it that’s a bonus.
JB: How did you start painting?
AJ: I had a stressful job for a while and was looking for a hobby that took me out of that headspace. A friend of mine encouraged me to start painting. I ended up starting with watercolour because it was the least expensive form to get set up with. I think it cost me $50 to get a pad of paper and some paint and brushes.
JB: Did you do that while you were working?
AJ: I had one day off a week. I pretty much spent all Sundays painting. That’s how I learned, by watching YouTube videos and reading books.
JB: So you’re mostly self taught?
AJ: Yes. I took two watercolour courses right at the beginning with Angela Baker, but other than that I’m completely self taught. Lots of trial and error. Lots of paintings turned into greeting cards or just thrown into the garbage (laughs).
“Part of the creative process isn’t actually the making it’s everything that leads up to it.”
JB: How often do you work on your paintings?
AJ: It varies depending on what I have going on with work. Two summers ago I spent the whole summer painting as my full time job. That was awesome, I want to do that again some day. It really depends on what I have going on with my work life. It comes and goes sometimes. Part of the creative process isn’t actually the making it’s everything that leads up to it. The thinking, the research, looking at other people’s work for inspiration. That’s a really valuable part of making art.
JB: Who is it that inspires you to create art?
AJ: When I was in high school I was obsessed with Ansel Adams and sometimes I wonder when I paint landscapes how much of his eye and his work is creeping in. I think he’s a really accessible photographer, there’s something in his work that’s just so simple and majestic. When you think about the technology he used to make those images and how far he had to walk, the weather he would be out in.
JB: I read that he went through the mountains with a mule carrying glass plates.
AJ: And to take your picture, and make the trek back. I wonder how many of them got broken and his heart got broken along with them! (laughs)
In terms of who inspires me I don’t really know the answer to that question. I just sort of feel compelled to make art. I have a really great group of people around me that support and encourage me. I’d say that’s an inspiration too, to have people that are cheering you on and want to see what you’re working on now. That’s a really important role that people can play in the life of an artist, to give them that encouragement.
JB: When I interviewed Tom Cochrane he said something similar, some of his friends are his biggest inspiration. When you’re around awesome people you want to do awesome things. Are there any painters that you look up to?
AJ: Right now I’m spending a lot of time looking at Georgia O’Keeffe’s work. The way she uses color and forms, and the shapes that she uses is very beautiful. I really like JMW Turner and his skies especially. He paints these skies that are almost otherworldly. I love painting skies. They would be the two that I think about a lot right now.
“Sometimes I feel like the paintings have lives of their own and you have to let them become what they’re going to be,”
JB: Do you have a daily or morning routine to help you create art?
AJ: At the moment I’m really busy with work so no. But when I’m not so busy I start every day by writing. Usually I do it before I even go out of bed. I just lie there and write my stream of consciousness. I have friends who are writers, painters, musicians, photographers, all of them have that same practice. It’s almost like you clear out whatever’s in your brain before you start your day. I think it helps with the creative process.
JB: I totally agree. I started writing for whatever reason and that’s since inspired me to create even more. What are some of the challenges you face during the creative process?
AJ: One of my biggest challenges, and I think a lot of other people have the same thing, is that what’s in my head doesn’t always end up being what’s on the paper. Sometimes I feel like the paintings have lives of their own and you have to let them become what they’re going to be, but that can be frustrating as well. The painting that’s up for the LAWN show (“Presence” at the Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre) – I did five versions of that painting before I got one that I was happy with. That can be really frustrating especially when other people will say “Oh I really like this aspect or that part.” As artists we’re often our own worst critics and all we see is the things that didn’t turn out the way we imagined it would.
JB: Your eye will be drawn to that one tiny imperfection in the corner,
AJ: Yes and nobody else even notices!
Watercolour as a medium can be frustrating because with other types of painting you can paint over the imperfections, but with watercolor you can’t take it off. You can’t cover it up because the pigments are transparent, you can’t layer and layer because eventually you lose that transparent aspect and paintings will turn into what people refer to as “muddy.” They get overworked. Technically speaking if you’re going to be a watercolour purist you’re not allowed to use white paint. So your white is your paper and you need to plan that from the beginning. Once there’s paint there you can’t take it off. That can be frustrating if I don’t plan my paintings very carefully. I do use white paint sometimes, I’m not that rigid.
JB: Can you speak a bit about how you’ve gotten through any lethargic periods?
AJ: Right now I have a really busy work schedule and it’s hard to find the energy to put towards it, and the mental space as well. But I always come out of it and I always find some inspiration. I find that the LAWN group shows are really helpful because they give you something specific to paint towards and often there’ll be a theme. Something to hang your hat on in terms of what you’re going to make and when to have it done by.
JB: What draws you to a particular subject matter?
AJ: I really love painting water and sky. I’ve found over the years that the pieces that I like the most -the ones people seem to respond to the most – are the ones that come from some kind of emotional experience that I’ve had. Which I always find interesting because the people viewing the work don’t always understand where the painting came from. One of the things I love about art is how it stokes up feelings and emotions in people. Two people can look at the same image and read something completely different into it.
JB: What is it that keeps you motivated to create? How long have you been painting?
AJ: Since 2006, so 12 years. I just feel compelled to make art. In the times when I don’t have time to work towards it I tend to feel a bit off balance, like my life is out of whack somehow. It’s actually a blessing to have something like that in your life because it can be a signal that something needs to change if you do feel off. I definitely feel calmer when I paint, it’s a really peaceful, solitary activity. I usually listen to music when I’m working and my cat is always with me.
JB: Does the music affect your work? I could never do any kind of creating while listening to music.
AJ: Yep. I feel it’s an essential part of making art for me. I listen to everything, it’s not like you can look at a painting and see what kind of music I was listening to. The other thing with watercolour is you spend a lot of time waiting for things to dry, so I do other things like graphic design and writing work. My studio is my office. I’ll paint and while I’m waiting for that to dry, which can sometimes take a couple of hours, I move onto other things.
JB: Can you speak a bit about the multiple stages of a painting?
AJ: I think it’s good to walk away from it sometimes, then you come back to it with fresh eyes. I also find that I take photos of the paintings as they evolve and sometimes when you look at a photograph you notice something about the composition, or tone, or something that you don’t see when you’re just looking at it on the flat work surface.
And so the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing…
JB: Would you say painting is your favorite artistic outlet?
AJ: Yes definitely. Or cooking. I can’t remember where I heard it, but someone said to be an artist you just need to make something every day. That can be a pot of soup, or a photograph, or a sentence you wrote down on the back of a napkin. It’s really important to make something everyday. When I cook a meal I see that as an art form. A lot of the time while I’m cooking I’m thinking about what I’m going to do next for my painting.
JB: If you could live and create in any period of time which one would it be and why?
AJ: I actually think now is a great time to be making, especially in Newfoundland. If I had to go back in history I think I would probably like to be making during the time of the Impressionists. They were pushing so many boundaries. They were doing their thing despite everyone criticizing them and telling them their work wasn’t good. They just did what they wanted to do and found like minded people to share that with. I spent some time in London last spring and I visited The National Gallery where they have a lot of Van Gogh’s and Manet’s. That was a great experience.
“I also learned that art is something to be done for enjoyment and there are friendships to be made through it.”
JB: Do you see a link between your early work doing crafts, to photography, to painting?
AJ: I think it’s all about learning to see the world. The photography class I took in high school was where I learned the basics of composition and tone, all of those things that are really important no matter the art you’re making. I also learned that art is something to be done for enjoyment, and there are friendships to be made through it. Which has still continued for me. A lot of my closest friends are artists, which is great.
JB: Anything that brings people together is wonderful. Alli thank you for your time, it was a pleasure to be able to learn more about you and your work.
AJ: Thank you.
To see more of Alli Johnston’s work you can visit http://www.allijohnston.com
Follow her on Facebook @allijohnstonartwork