We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Monica Johnson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Monica below.

Monica, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on was a painting for the “Pointe of Art Exhibition and Benefit”. The proceeds from this event were given to The Monterey Peninsula Ballet Theater Scholarship Program and supports those dancers in our county that cannot afford the expenses required to dance.

When I was young, I took ballet lessons and had to discontinue as my family could not afford it so this project touched my heart. Several months before the exhibition, each participating artist was paired with a dancer. The dancer did a two-minute dance performance for the artist and then the dancer gave the artist their dance shoes. I was paired with a young ballerina who was a junior in high school. In just two minutes of her dancing to La Bayadére, her performance gave me chills of excitement and I was eager to create a painting inspired by her performance. She handed me her pointe shoes and I was off to my studio to get started.

Before I started painting, I wrote words on the canvas that were evoked from watching her dance: “strength, beauty, love, resilience, joy, passion, courage, bold, listen to the whispers of your heart, authentic, catalyst, harmony, trust in the unknown, transformation, simplicity, let yourself shine”. These written words are the foundation of the first layer and they set the intention for the painting.

My ballerina and I met at my studio and together we wrote more words of inspiration on the edges of the canvas: “blessing in disguise, magical, imagination, freeing, mystical, flying, passion, elegant, openness, joy, freedom, purpose fuels passion, powerful beyond measure”. This collaboration deepened the intentions for this piece.

As we wrote, she spoke about her desires for the future. She would like to continue to dance and she would also like to study to become a marine or mechanical engineer. She talked about the challenge of pursuing two very different professions.

I blended her two passions in the painting called The Dance. From her ballet, I cut up her pointe shoes and nestled the fabric and the sheet music for La Bayadére within layers of paint. Her engineering dream, I embedded the symbols of physics formulas for the trajectory of movement and angular momentum with inertia under layers of dynamic, dancing paint strokes.

When my ballerina and her mom saw the finished painting, it brought tears to their eyes as they felt it captured the feelings and movement of her dance. I was touched at the connections we made during the creation of this piece. The night of the exhibition gave me the opportunity to talk about my painting. I learned that my ballerina’s ballet teacher talks to her in the way of physics. I had no idea this connection was there. The painting was ultimately purchased by her ballet teacher and is now hanging in her home in San Francisco. I was so honored that this painting raised money to give other dancers the opportunity to pursue their dreams.

Monica, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an acrylic and mixed media painter based in Carmel, California. I was born in Monterey, CA, moved to Kansas at a young age, and returned to Monterey in my 20’s. I earned an associate of science degree in dental hygiene and later completed my licensure for massage therapy, and practiced both professions for 20 years. Several years ago, with rising life challenges, I began painting as a way to explore my creative curiosity and heal my own heart. I discovered I had a natural talent and affinity for creating imagery.

I committed to refining my painting skills, and have studied with several accomplished artists and teachers. Through this journey, I found my artistic voice in the rich tradition of abstract painting. Today I create images that use earthy colors, rich texture, and organic composition to capture and translate the natural world and human experiences.

As an artist, I am always searching for inspiration in the world around me. Nature is my primary source of influence and I find beauty in the way that everything is connected. My art is an exploration of these connections and the complexity that exists within simplicity.

Living on the central coast of California, I am deeply inspired by nature, witnessing the balance and harmony created through its various cycles and seasons and I find beauty in the way that everything is connected. My art is an exploration of these connections and the complex rhythms that exists within simplicity.

I start my paintings by writing quotes or words on the canvas as a way to set an intention for the art. Luminous depth is created with layers of transparent acrylic paint, graphite and collage that engage me in the moment, scraping back layers to reveal its history, then adding more layers. Mark upon mark creates a rhythmic pattern.

Every painting goes through its own cycles and I strive to create balance and harmony in each piece. Richly textured and layered, the viewer is invited to search below the surface. Just as in life to look within, “below their surface,” for their own truth.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Gosh, I have found so many rewarding aspects of being an artist. I love the continual learning and growth that comes from my painting practice. Each painting presents new challenges and opportunities for discovery and personal development. If I get stuck in the painting process, I can reflect on what is causing this feeling and then asking myself the question, “Where else in my life do I do this?” There is also the satisfaction of expressing myself and creating something unique. It is incredibly fulfilling to witness someone appreciating my work and interpret it in their own way. Ultimately, probably the most fulfilling aspect of being an artist is simply the joy and happiness I experience that comes from pursuing a passion and doing something that I love.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

When I started painting, I had a blast as a beginner. Everything was new. After painting for  few years, I felt the weight of comparison. Every time I posted a painting online or showed it to fellow artists, I found myself scrutinizing my art against someone else and examining every flaw in my own work. Over time, comparison began to take its toll. I became anxious and insecure about my own abilities, constantly doubting myself and feeling inadequate. Someone else’s shining made me feel dull and, in reality, it was really just that whatever that person was doing was something that I had not allowed to blossom within myself. Comparison was stifling my creativity. I realized that I needed to unlearn my comparison habits if I was ever going to find peace and fulfillment in my work.

I took a pause from social media and I began to deliberately seek out styles and mediums that I had little experience with, and took a “beginner’s mind” approach with my art. Instead of comparing myself with others, I focused on the process of creation and the enjoyment of bringing my own unique ideas to life. Now, when I feel comparison creeping in, I see it as a distraction and use it as a powerful tool – a reminder to stay on my own path, my own journey – and keep moving forward. Being mindful and connected to myself, my values allowed space for joy, for myself and for others.

Through this unlearning process, I discovered a newfound freedom in my work. I found that the more I trusted my intuition and followed my own creative impulses, the more my art began to stand out and find its own style. I also found a renewed sense of confidence in my abilities, and I realized comparison was only holding me back from fully exploring my potential. I now embrace my own unique artistic voice and I am more fulfilled and authentic in my work and my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.monicajohnsonart.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/monicajohnsonart

Image Credits
Photographs by Monica Johnson.