Inspiration to Excellence

Artwork and storyfrom Darren Johnson

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My journey in art began around 2014 and was sparked by a personal crisis. The crisis I experienced is one many, if not all, of us are affected by. So, there is no need to delve further into this issue. Suffice to say, art became the bridge needed to move on.

For me, art became an incredible way to relax the mind and body. Colored pencils and light sketching were my first, serious endeavors into art. Then came watercolor and some serious improvements in my output. With watercolor I learned that enormous amounts of canvas coverage could be achieved in my artwork in a relatively short period of time as compared to colored pencils (Yes to watercolor, lol!).

As a (mostly) self taught artist, art has become a central tenet of my lifestyle and daily work flow. There is no better feeling than to sell your first piece of artwork. At this point in my art journey I am attempting to establish myself in the art community and contests like this help to define my place there (competing and being judged, although sometimes difficult, can spur improvement if criticism can be received positively).

My current challenges in art and what I most am interested in learning surround watercolor itself. Because colored pencils were my first foray into art, controlling the amount of paint to use has, at times, been challenging. Sometimes I'm using too little paint or worse, I'm ruining a perfect blend with too much paint. Of course, unlike color pencils, watercolor is more forgiving so I'm generally able to readjust and produce good output.

I mentioned earlier that I am a mostly, self taught artist. While this is true, the "mostly" part has a real source. The internet has been, and continues to be a wonderful asset to watch informal art lessons from many great artists and websites. Watercolor Academy is at the top of that list. My subscription to your website happened several years ago and was a free offering (and continues to be) to those interested. So winning this contest would give me the opportunity to pay back the art community for the great lessons provided. Increasing my art instruction can only increase the quality of my artwork because I have a passion to be my very best and continue to give back to the art world. In this way, Watercolor Academy is catalyst to art and artist discovery while continuing to provide high level art instruction. What artist wouldn't want a contest victory from the established and respected Academy?

People should vote for me based on the impact and complexity of my submitted piece.

Sincerely yours,
Darren Johnson