Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Johnson.

Kim, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

I was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. I had an imaginative and adventurous childhood climbing trees and exploring the Mojave desert as a kid. The city and it’s natural environment became my playground and creative muse throughout my life. I eventually chose Las Vegas to be my forever home. I’ve traveled and love the adventure of new people and places but the wild west desert has my heart. I have built my studio and life under the big blue desert sky and love it like no other place.

My adult life has been one of creative variety. I have had several jobs working in various creative professions in small art galleries, frame shops and interior design. I achieved a bachelor degree in Fine Art at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The life experience these places provided me have been a gift to my now life and private studio practice creating art for myself and the world. I believe every experience in life, good or bad, is a beautiful part of our future self and should be embraced like an old friend.

The path I am on now feels like home. It is full of wonderful people and great opportunities to connect with the world while creating language through visual art. I have worked full time in a career in fine art for over 15 years in my studio as well as co founding a dynamic community arts foundation in public arts with my husband who is also an artist. The last 15 years have been an incredible journey of discovery, joy and challenge. I look forward to much more of all that.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

It hasn’t all been a bed of roses as they say. There were moments of great turbulence and chaos right along side the extreme joys of this life. I’ve had my share of making dismal mistakes, suffering the consequences, relationships that were not meant for me, and loss of loved ones. Recently my mother passed away and if you have experienced this then you know no one can prepare you for the tail spin of losing the very person that you came from. I am very fortunate to have the wonderful, supportive family I have. My father is also an artist in retirement and has been there every step of the way as my best friend and in heroic support. My partner in everything fiancé is an incredibly talented artist and life partner. We are building our life and career together and this makes life so much sweeter.

There will always be the horrible things and the inconvenient things that happen in life and usually right in the middle of something wonderful. The difference is how we handle them. My way is to push through and find a way to value the discomfort. There will always be loss, heartbreak, pain and suffering. There will be resentments, money problems, health problems and hang nails. Suffering is part of who we are and part of being alive. I am here to feel it all and gain a better understanding of truth through that.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

I am a painter. That is the short version. The rest is a deep ocean dive into how making and experiencing art moves us, connects us, shows us ourselves, helps us see the world and saves lives in so many ways. I have quietly been an artist most of my life. I have spent a good portion of my adult life working in creative fields such as galleries, art handling, frame shops, and in interior design before devoting my life to making art full time. We all have a path that is perfect for each of us. When I say perfect I mean complete with both joys and sorrows, growth and sacrifice. For me, it’s all there when I am creating art and sharing with the world. It makes life an incredible fulfilling, challenging and exciting adventure every day. It took making a lot of mistakes and sacrifice to get here and that is glorious.

I truly enjoy the solitary space of the studio creating, experimenting, working on shows and commissions in a quiet controlled environment but making art doesn’t just happen in the studio for me. I enjoy painting live in public, large mural size to intimately small. It’s a gift to interreact with viewers form all backgrounds and to hear their perspectives. Mostly, I simply enjoy their company. It’s not so much about making the painting but more about making the human connection. Sometimes I paint publicly incognito under a mask in settings where no one knows me. It’s an incredible way to experience the process objectively and for viewers to cut loose of inhibitions by joining in. Also, For the past decade I have helped build and host exciting public art events for artists and academics with my fiancé’, founder and creator of the arts foundation, Abnormal Eye Candy. We build large structures, installing them in the street for artists to paint large scale publicly and many times we join in. These were unforgettable experiences that I carry with me always. There is so much gratitude to express here. These are just a few of infinite ways there are to experience and give the world art. My experience so far tells me it truly connects us in ways we could never imagine. I’m here for all of it.

I have shown and exhibited in some really wonderful places over the past 15 years. I am grateful to each and every person and experience. I wanted to take things a step further though and create something to give viewers a way to interact on a more personal level and shine a light on them and how we’re all connected. I believe we are here to inspire each other and the world did not disappoint! In 2016, I installed the first what is called, “The Free Cure” in 2016. What happened after that was pure momentum. I like to call myself the caretaker of this project more that the creator because it really took on a life of it’s own that belongs to the people who interacted with it. The short explanation of what it is, is “The Free Cure” is an interactive art installation that provides prescription pads for folks to prescribe themselves by writing down what inspires them on an rx slip and then drop it into the “manifestation” submission box. It then comes out of the box and is added to a wall of prescriptions for all to share and be inspired by each other. The Free Cure has over a thousand prescriptions that have been submitted. My hopes are that the size of the wall of Cures keeps growing. I have plans to launch more Free Cure installations in the upcoming year in creative spaces and coffee shops for people to continue enjoy manifesting their Free Cures.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?

I am grateful to my parents who have always fostered and supported the creative in me. My mother was an incredible creative force of life and I am forever grateful to her love and influence. I am eternally to my father, who is a talented and accomplished artist in retirement, for for his never-ending support, encouragement and friendship in continuing on this path.

I am grateful to my fiancé’ and partner in all things for riding this planet with me and making every day feel like a lifetime of partnership, excitement and adventure. I am grateful for his strength, friendship and inspiration every single day.

I am grateful to my dear friends who inspire me daily with their light and laughter, making my life full, and keeping it real so I never feel alone in anything.

I am honored to be showing in and fortunate enough to work with the folks at PTG Private Technology Group inside the World Market Center, Las Vegas. Relationships are life and I am grateful to these folks for supporting my visions and professionally shining a light on and representing my work. https://privatetechgroup.com/collections/artist-kim-johnson for works available.

I am grateful to ArtBox by Liezl of Las Vegas who has championed for artists of every background to shine a light on them. I am proud to be one of over 100 local artists they represent and respect the hard work they do to bring artists many opportunities.

I am grateful for each and every opportunity, gallery, curator, and every single person that’s helped hang the art and do all the work along the way, They are the ones that build the opportunities and pave the way for artists to show their art. I believe in this relationship and respect it.

I couldn’t possibly express in words my gratitude for those that have been near me thick and thin and everywhere in between. We are all here to inspire each other and share the path.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.strangedaysandstardust.com/about-1.html
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strangedaysandstardust/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimbableu
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-johnson-635a3659/
• Other: https://abnormaleyecandy.com/

Image Credits

These are my images.