Shelly Johnson fine art

Shelly Johnson is a watercolor artist living in Boise, Idaho. She grew up in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California and studied at UCLA and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. She earned her BFA from Art Center in Advertising Illustration.

She has worked as an illustrator for books and magazines, as a muralist, and as a computer artist doing 3D modeling and animation for video games. She is a member of the Idaho Watercolor Society since 2010, and is a regular participant in their annual Idaho Capitol Building and membership juried shows. She is currently an IWS Signature Member. She has completed multiple watercolor paintings on commission, primarily paintings of children, since 2009.

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In 2010, Shelly moved to Boise, Idaho, to live a slower, quieter life in an inspiring landscape. Her favorite painting subject is children, but she found a second love painting Idaho landscapes and wildlife. She primarily works in watercolor, which she has practiced with since she was a teenager. Her father was a watercolor painter at the time, and he is her greatest artistic influence. She is also inspired by the watercolors of John Singer Sargent and Winslow Homer, the musical qualities in the work of Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky, and the use of color and light by the California Impressionists. She occasionally paints plein air using oils, primarily to improve the spontaneity in her work and experiment with color.

With her watercolors, she uses a layering technique, which creates luminous skin and rich, deep color. She believes the luminosity of her watercolor technique especially lends itself to portraying children and to recreating Idaho’s unique light. She enjoys playing with color, light, and pattern. She likes to experiment with composition and to create compositions that appear musical.

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Shelly currently resides in Boise, Idaho, with her husband and their Pudlepointer, Cooper. Her work and information regarding commissions is available for viewing on her website, shellyjohnsonstudio.com.