In 2022, the shapes of houses emerged in my paintings. Although I did not intentionally depict houses, the combination of triangle and rectangle shapes in my artwork created a resemblance. The first instance of this house-like shape appeared in a piece titled "The Pink House Down The Road,” (see figure 1 below) and since then, it has persistently manifested in my subsequent paintings. This recurring theme may be attributed to the constant construction happening in the area where I reside, as houses are being erected all around me. Once I acknowledged and embraced the presence of houses in my artwork, I intentionally incorporated them into my paintings, resulting in a landscape-like composition. The lower third of the paintings features solid, weighty shapes, while the top portion showcases more atmospheric and loosely painted strokes. Embracing the "Houses" theme, I have created several mixed media works that prominently feature houses. These artworks have been produced using an "automatic" drawing technique. The process begins with a swift charcoal sketch, where marks are made spontaneously without any intentional depiction of a subject. In the subsequent step, color is introduced by applying two or three paint colors, along with gesso and acrylic medium, across the surface of the drawings using a trowel. Lastly, the image is further enhanced with pencil, incorporating distinctive features of the “House”.
The new artworks are now available as prints on my website, wkjohnsonartist.com.
Figure 1 “The Pink House Down The Road” 38” x 38”
Acrylic on canvas, framed.