Artist of the Month July 2011

Johne Richardson

Overland Park, Kansas

Johne Richardson earned a BFA in Illustration from the University of Kansas in 1983. He worked for Hallmark Cards in Kansas City for 27 years illustrating greeting cards, achieving the position of Senior Illustrator and becoming accomplished at a wide range of styles, techniques, and subject matter. Johne’s passion is drawing, and painting in watercolor, and he has taught painting classes to other professionals, and also to non-professionals, both adults and students. He has a love of the outdoors, travel, and photography, and a special enthusiasm for cowboys, and the West. Johne teaches Illustration at The Kansas City Art Institute, Painting at MNU in Olathe, KS, teaches watercolor in Overland Park, KS,and is currently preparing for a one-man show featuring photos, drawings, and paintings of cowboys at the Coutts Museum in El Dorado, KS in 2011. He lives in Overland Park, Kansas, with his wife Janet and their three children.

How and when did you start creating art?

My mom told about anyone who would listen that I started drawing with a pencil before I was 2, but that might just be urban legend. I do remember drawing an Easter Bunny in crayon in second grade, with a dark purple background, and the teacher put it up on the chalkboard for everyone to see. The rush was extraordinary. In third grade I sold a drawing of a hot rod to J.D. Russell, and I remember thinking at the time that perhaps high school wasn’t a necessity, much less college. Reflecting back however, I’m glad I finished both. Art sales can be sporadic at best.

What media and genres do you work in?

I love drawing in pencil, the elegance and the nuance of the marks. Preliminary studies in pencil are common among artists, but I like using pencil to make “finished” art. It has an intimacy like no other medium. I’ve painted in watercolor for more than thirty years, but recently in a more non-traditional way, using some opaque gouache, and painting on board more often than watercolor paper. I’ve been taking photographs for decades as well, mostly as reference for paintings, but more and more for the photograph as art by itself. My subject matter tends to be figures- mostly cowboys and historical figures, but I will paint most anything, from flowers to clouds to landscapes.

Who or what are your influences?

I’ve always had a love for classic American watercolorists- Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Frank W. Benson, John Whorf, and Andrew Wyeth. Their mastery of the medium has been my motivation to always improve as an artist. I’m influenced by the natural world around me- prairie, mountains, and seashore. I draw inspiration for artwork from the beauty of nature, but also find a physical energy and spiritual rejuvenation spending time out of doors.

"Shadow Upon the Land" Unless one is a Civil War geek, one might not be aware of the conflict along the Kansas-Missouri border for the ten years prior to the outbreak of war on the national stage, and what a catalyst it was in dividing the nation. (I happen to be such a geek) This musician plays a mournful tune (as only violin can be), and against that dark background that is a portent of the difficult times ahead, the image seemed a perfect visual allegory of “Bleeding Kansas”.

Describe your creative process?

I like to immerse myself completely in the environment of my subject matter, whether it’s the prairie, or the mountains, or a ranch in the Flint Hills, or a Civil War reenactment. I look for mood and emotion created by the light, and generally take hundreds of photographs while absorbing the character of the people and the place. I’ll then return to my studio, and sort out the images that move me in a visceral way, and use those as inspiration for a painting or drawing. I can continue to draw enthusiasm from a journey even years later, sometimes discovering a new emotion that was overlooked originally.

What are you working on currently?

I’m currently putting together about 40 drawings, paintings, and photographs of cowboys and the prairie for a show at the Coutts Museum in El Dorado, Kansas that opens August 16 of this year, in conjunction with a western heritage festival in El Dorado. It’s a lot of work, but I’ve really enjoyed being focused on the subject matter, and the changes in my art as a result.

What are your near/long term goals as an artist?

Near term is to get this show together on time... I also teach painting and illustration, so time can often be a challenge, but I’m excited by how the show is coming together. I think it will be a solid representation of my work. Long term... and I hope this doesn’t sound too vague, too undefined, but if I can make the most of my talent over the remainder of my life- make the best art that that talent allows, and share my understanding of art with others to the best that opportunity allows, then I think I’ll be at peace in the knowledge that I’ve utilized and cherished the gift that I’ve been given, and honored that gift through my effort.

Where can people view/purchase your work (gallery, website, etc)?

Anyone can visit my website for an overview of the range of work that I create, and contact me directly- http://johnerichardson.squarespace.com/ The Coutts museum will have my most recent work up and available from August 16 through mid-October. Rod Seel is the director of the museum, and their website is- http://www.skyways.org/museums/coutts/index.htm