Coreen Johnson

At times, I find it rather difficult to define what inspires me to paint. I would guess it is an attempt to share my visual and emotional interpretation of the world as I see it.
Having lived on three continents – born in Ireland and grew up in South Africa - I am fairly mindful of our cultural and environmental differences, but also try to be aware of those bonds that we all 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 it. I now live in S. Minnesota and have gradually managed to assimilate and find inspiration in this vast new country with its own particular bounty of bio-climates, changing seasons and stark,regional variations. I think it is these contrasts that most interest me and influence how I approach my work. The softer natural forms of prairie grasslands, rivers and lakes, juxtaposed with the sharp geometric lines and hard surfaces of our cities.
Never satisfied, I am always fine-tuning techniques and exploring various new ways of understanding my subject matter and medium. There are infinite ways and methods of approaching the creative process and I sometimes find myself rather overwhelmed. Curiosity usually prevails and I am again eager to put paint to canvas, to translate my vision of our, sometimes dramatic, sometimes ordinary world.