Dana Johns

"Lately I have been much more interested in communicating an emotion rather than rendering a landscape.  With these new paintings, I’ve been heeding the advice that Robert Henri once gave his students.  'Don’t try to paint good landscapes, but try to do paintings that will show how interesting the landscape looks to you.'”

"My love for trees increases the more I paint them. With each year of life, I have a deepening sense of the spiritual that can be seen in the physical.  I’m not only interested in painting trees, but what is happening around and among them.  The light gathering among a group of trees as the sun is setting creates a visible access to the mystical, the eternal present in the temporal."

"My art is inspired by my first notions of joy.  I grew up on a river in South Georgia, where the waters slow down and settle, and much of my childhood was spent outdoors. I believe that the beauty and mystery of these places were calling me to something beyond the natural, something eternal."

"I’m enjoying experimenting with layers of textures and glazes, starting with a textured painting ground and using a dry brush technique.  Also, starting a painting by smearing paint on the panel, not knowing what direction it will take me.  Then, when I have a sense of place that interests me, I continue to add layers on top of this, experimenting with glazes of wax and medium for mood, atmosphere, and depth."

Stop by the gallery to see her current exhibit "Place of Light" - which will be hanging through February 12, 2010. For any questions, please contact Sybil or Tiffany at 404-352-1855.