FINE ART & PORTRAITURE by TALYA JOHNSON

Art, like music, is a universal language. It glorifies our diversity, yet reminds us of our similarity. It anchors down what is and hints at what may be.

In creating artwork, I rely first on my graphic-design training and experience. I look for a subject with interesting lines, patterns, and rhythm. I look for the deeper layers, metaphors, and stories that are just beyond everyday vision. I explore unexpected angles and experiment with lights and shadows to find balance for a effective composition. Once my sketches and color studies are complete, I start relying more on my intuition and experience.

This is when art "happens.” My focus and senses are razor-sharp, and I am completely enmeshed with my subject, and its ultimate Creator. Through the paint I speak to viewer’s senses—share a thought, a memory, an insight. I express colors, movement, scents and symbols that are just beneath the surface of the ordinary. I celebrate life’s perfect moments that can be so fleeting. The end result is a canvas thick with paint that is mixed with my heart.

I have been blessed to have had two lands and people to call my own. My parents were among the first settlers of the Golan Heights in Israel, and it was in that land of contrasts that I was born and spent my early childhood. Memories of burying my head in sheep’s wool, swimming and fishing in the Jordan, and playing on a captured Syrian tank still drift fresh through my mind. It was during these early years that I watched my mother paint, and so it was my mother’s paintings that I first tried to copy.

After moving to Alaska at the age of ten, I shifted my attention for a time to learning the new language and customs, but by middle school I was back to the drawing board. I filled every elective I could with art classes. By my senior year, I was rewarded with several exhibit awards and an art scholarship. Most of my early work was figurative as I was fascinated with the human body and form, an interest sparked by my piano accompaniment for the Alaska Dance Theater. I attended graphic design school and was the first of my class to complete the program and my portfolio, and receive my degree.

I worked as a graphic artist for many years for various companies and received a promotion to Art Director for Arctic Circle Enterprises—a wholesale souvenir manufacturer. At ACE, it was my privilege to work with many renowned Alaskan artists. With them as my guides, the beauty of Alaska was suddenly revealed to me. Yet, this important step occurred at a time that my family needed me most. My husband, who has been my biggest fan since my early teens, agreed that it was time to come home.

I found complete fulfillment in being a wife and mother. Instead of admiring dancers’ skill and form, I found beauty in my own children. I saw how light and expression changed their features. I noted how the seemingly ordinary became extraordinary through their young eyes. I taught my children at home, and this time used my creative skills to help them learn. I developed a more poignant appreciation for my husband’s love and adoration. But as time wore on I felt an irresistible need to express my deeper feelings and insights. So I started to paint.

I try to paint at night, when the little ones are asleep, but there are days when I simply can’t put my brush down. My five boys love to join me—even the three-year-old, who makes quite a mess and leaves his mark on many of my paintings. Although our house is small, the family has never complained about losing a room to Mom’s growing painting mess.

I’m exploring, pushing myself to represent my world, my vision, and my passion--everything that makes my art uniquely mine while connecting me with those of like mind and spirit.

EDUCATION
Al Collins Graphic Design School, Tempe, Arizona; AA in Graphic Design
University of Santa Barbara, California; Macintosh Summit
Scottsdale Artists' School, Arizona; Portrait and Figure Painting in Oil with Shuqiao Zhou

EXHIBITIONS
2007 Valley Arts Alliance group exhibit, Alaska Art and Garden, Art Paviloin, Palmer Alaska
2007 Valley Arts Alliance group exhibit, Wasilla Governor's Picnic, Wasilla, Alaska
2007 Valley Arts Alliance group exhibit-Sat. featured artist, AK State Fair Art Paviloin, Palmer, Alaska
2008 Valley Art Alliance Iditarod group exhibit, Dorothy Paige Museum, Wasilla, Alaska
2008 First Friday Solo exhibit, Artic Poppy Boutique, Wasilla, Alaska
2008 Exhibit with Amber Johnson, Pia's Custom Framing and Art Gallery, Wasilla, Alaska

AWARDS/MEMBERSHIP
United Alaskan Artists Scholarship
PRSA 1st place for internal publication (Anchorage Times)
Valley Art Alliance--2007 through present
Associate member of Oil Painters of America
Juried member of Alaska Artists Guild

SKILLS
Fine art painting and portraiture in oils, acrylics, and pastels; Illustration and rendering in varied mediums; layout; production art for offset printing (4-color process and spot color), and screen printing; web page authoring; computer proficiency in Mac and PC software including Corel Draw, Microsoft Word , Microsoft Front Page, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Macromedia Freehand, PageMaker, Quark Xpress.

FREELANCING
Varied design projects for the following graphic-related businesses: Clay's Printing, Cinema Source Advertising, Digital Graphics, Visible Ink., Denali Sites, Bradley Advertising. Logos, business cards and web pages for varied businesses. Commissioned portraits and sales for various private collections. Group and private painting and art lessons.

EMPLOYMENT
Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, Anchorage, Alaska
• Graphic design of printed promotional material
• Composition and implementation of promotional messages over electronic mediums
• Maintenance and design of web site
• Design of browser banking interface

Arctic Circle Enterprises, Inc., Anchorage, Alaska
• Art Department organization and direction
• Production and design of Alaskan souvenirs: softgoods (T-shirts, sweats, etc.); hardgoods (hats, pins, patches, ceramics, etc.); paper goods (postcards, calendars, etc.)
• Artwork and design of promotional materials for Arctic Circle clients
• Organization and production of catalog and other promotional materials
• Computer training for other Art Department employees