ARTIST LEE JOHNSON OF DICKINSON HAS SPECIAL JANUARY EXHIBIT

Dickinson painter Lee Johnson is the Galveston Art League’s Featured Artist for January. Her paintings, which have a luminous effect and graceful style, will be exhibited and available for purchase from Jan. 3-27 at the Art League’s downtown Galveston gallery, 2117A Postoffice St. She works in three mediums: watercolor, acrylic, and oil. But watercolor is her favorite medium “because I can explore in it more and do different effects and mix it with another medium,” said Johnson. The 82-year-old paints every day and feels all artists should do so to practice and hone their craft. Johnson teaches oil painting, beginning watercolor, and advanced watercolor at the College of the Mainland’s Lifelong Learning Center in La Marque, where she also has taken classes. Her favorite subjects to paint include plants, landscapes, portraits, wildlife, and abstracts. “Design is the most important thing,” Johnson says. “I messed around for 10 years before I learned design, and then it was like a light switch turned on. By design, I mean the objects to include in the painting and where to put them ― the darks, lights, and mid-tones to use; the big and little pieces you need. And you need a big object that stands out. All of these go into the design of a painting.” She enters regional competitions such as the Texas City Art Show and Galveston Art League’s juried competitions. Her awards include a March 2018 Best of Show for Tropicals and Winter 2017 Best of Show for Sunflower juried competitions held by the Art League. (The Galveston Art League Gallery holds three juried competitions per year; league members’ entry fees are discounted. The organization’s website ― www.GalvestonArtLeague.com ― has details about juried shows.) Johnson, who began painting about three decades ago, sells her paintings at the Galveston Art League Gallery and is a professional member of the 105-year-old nonprofit organization. She also sells through exhibits such as those held at the Dickinson library in May and the Seabrook library in June. CREDIT: Photo by Pat Jakobi In March, Dickinson artist Lee Johnson won the top honor, Best of Show, at a Galveston Art League juried competition. CREDIT: Photo by Pat Jakobi SUNFLOWER PAINTING Sunflower earned Dickinson painter Lee Johnson a Best of Show award at the Winter 2017 competition of the Galveston Art League. Submitted by: Mary Vinnedge 940-222-1958