We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Coreen Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Coreen, thanks for joining us today. We’ve love to hear an interesting investment story – what was one of the best or worst investments you’ve made? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

This may sound rather cheesy but my best decision was investing in myself and following my own path to establish myself as a creator and artist.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a 55 yr old artist living together with my husband on a farm in rural S. Central Minnesota. It’s been a long and convoluted path that has brought me to where I am now – one that I would never have have imagined as my younger self.

In a nut shell, I was born in Ireland and at the age of six, we emigrated to South Africa where I was schooled and attended college (design). I applied for and was accepted into an exchange program through the University of Minnesota, met my husband and here we are, still on the farm 30 years later. About a decade ago, we changed our farming operation and sold the livestock. As a result, I had a lot more spare time and although I had always dabbled with drawing and painting over the years, I began to envision a more serious future doing what I truly loved. My husband converted a heated garage into a studio and I’ve never looked back. I was accepted as an emerging artist for an outdoor art fair which was a transformative learning experience and the following year I applied to one of our top fairs here in Minneapolis and to my surprise, was again accepted. And so it all began…… I dived head-first into the art world and can honestly say this is where I was meant to be.

Over the last 7 or so years I have traversed the country attending summer art fairs (not for the faint of heart) and have gradually acquired a certain level of accomplishment. I’ve met so many wonderful people along the way who have encouraged and supported my journey. Together with four of my good artist friends, we opened a small gallery at a warehouse in the NE arts district of Minneapolis, where we display our work, have a number of curated exhibitions in the spring/fall and just enjoy engaging with the greater art community in this vibrant city location.

I work mostly in oils but use other media from time to time. I have a rather wide range of subject matter, which may or may not be a good thing, but it keeps me more interested and engaged.
Having lived on three continents, I am fairly mindful of our cultural and environmental differences, but also try to be aware of those bonds that we share no matter where we find ourselves. I am endlessly fascinated by the diversity and uniqueness of our natural world and man’s ability to adapt and/or alter. Growing up in South Africa, I was exposed to an abundance of unique habitats and cultures that were ultimately the stimulus for my artistic interests. As a result, I initially started out painting African wildlife and equestrian subjects but have at various stages, firstly gravitated towards landscapes and of late, urban cityscapes. My background in interior design has kicked in here with the later genre and I am now probably best known for my atmospheric, moody city scenes. I have also started working on a bigger scale over the past few years and have been commissioned on various occasions to portray scenes of Minneapolis and it’s surrounding environs.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

The art world is notoriously fickle and revenue streams can be horrifically inconsistent. One is constantly on this rollercoaster of feeling exuberant when your work is selling and people actually want to fork out thousands of dollars for something you created – and feeling inadequate and questioning your artistic vision when the sales are not as forthcoming.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I think most artists just have this innate need to create, irrespective of financial gain. I am grateful every day that I get to go into my studio and do what I love…..and make a living along the way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.coreenjohnsonfineart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coreentheartist/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoreenJohnsonArt/