Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Johnson.
Hi Jeff, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am an artist and composer working in Los Angeles. I am originally from South Carolina.
My art career began in elementary school when I got in trouble for painting on both sides of a canvas and then laying the wet canvas down on the brand new floor to dry. Even though one side of the painting was transferred to the once immaculate floor, I learned a valuable lesson: that art isn’t just restricted to what is on the canvas (or floor). Art also happens in the interaction between the viewer and the work, as they bring their story and background into the experience. Every day I work to create art that is meant to be interacted with, inviting the viewer to meditate and reflect, as I myself do in the creation process.
My composing career began around the same time as my art career. One day in preschool, I started impromptu conducting to the tune of Trepak from Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet, “The Nutcracker,” which was playing on a CD player in the background. I knew that day that I had to learn the ways of music so that I could make the sounds I was hearing in the recording. The joy I felt listening to Tchaikovsky in that classroom is the same joy I chase today when I compose music for film and TV.
I hope to bring joy and goodness to people with my work, just like so many artists, musicians, and teachers have done for me throughout my life.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Living and working in LA has been both beautiful and treacherous, glorious and heartbreaking. I’ve encountered difficult times here, but I’ve also experienced example after example of stunning goodness and beauty.
Chronic health issues have posed some serious challenges for me. For example, I started having consistent vasovagal syncope attacks while driving my car on the freeway. For those who don’t know, vasovagal syncope is where your heart rate increases a bunch, then drops all of a sudden and you pass out and lose consciousness for a bit. It is a traumatic experience every time it happens and it takes days, weeks, or months to recover from. This made driving impossible for a while and even made going out in public difficult.
Working in a big city like LA poses many difficulties for artists, so support from others and self is vital. I’ve learned the importance of caring for myself mentally, physically, and spiritually the way I would care for another person that I love. I’m thankful to have a handful of people in my life who believe in me. If you are reading this, take a moment to think of a person or two who have said a kind, encouraging word to you. I say that because gracious words are like gold to me, and I try to collect those kindnesses and reflect on them as much as I can. I hope we can be a society of genuine kindness for each other.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an artist and composer. I paint large landscapes with a modern take on the impressionist style that I like to call “refined impressionism.” I use bold, rich colors that are applied to the canvas in a playful, reckless manner. My way of painting is very dance-like; there is a lot of movement both on the canvas and with my body as I apply the paint. I love hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains and jumping into the Pacific Ocean, so a lot of my work explores the aesthetics of those places. There are also religious undercurrents running through all my works, integrating spirituality and meditation with the sensory experience of being outdoors.
My other full-time job is composing music for film, TV shows, and games. Like painting, my music is composed in a playful, whimsical manner (regardless of the musical style I am writing in). I use all the instruments of the orchestra to create a deep, cinematic sound that is joined with the drama happening on-screen. I play many instruments, but my favorites are piano, euphonium, and the pipe organ.
Most of my work is done here at my studio in LA. I think of my studio as a holy space; a sanctuary of tranquility where I can reflect, take risks, and adventure with my work.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Go with your gut. You can trust your instincts. Both with painting and with composing, each brush stroke or musical note is placed intuitively. Anytime I overthink a new piece, it ends up coming out soulless. But when I give myself the freedom to follow my intuition, I find that the painting paints itself. And the music composes itself. Technique and logic of course matters, but they follow alongside as the intuition leads the way.
I see this being true not only in art and music but also in daily life. For a period of my life, I shut myself off from my intuition, thinking only logically and pragmatically to an unhealthy degree. This was both of my own doing and a result of living in a hyper-productive, industrious environment. For me, that lead to OCD and sapped my health away. I knew I had to make changes and they had to start with my thinking and my environment.
I was able to find healing and change the environment I was living in, which allowed me to embrace my artistic and musical goals from a fresh perspective. It was a challenge to integrate both that “right-brained” intuitive way of being with the “left-brained” way of thinking, but allowing my intuition to lead the way through life has made me a healthier person.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.artbyjeffco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artbyjeffco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artbyjeffco
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ7CNpW4nOeF_VdYlLppicQ
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/jeffreypennjohnson
- Other: https://musicbyjeffco.com
