Meet Elisa Johns | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elisa Johns and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elisa, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Recently I’ve been taking risks in what I’m choosing to paint. I typically spend my summers sketching, photographing, and planning new series of work. This summer my daughter wanted to be involved in the process. During Covid she’s spent a lot more time at my studio and more time creating things. She really liked the idea that my newest works be a fantastical story. She wanted unicorns and butterflies and mountain lions. I decided to take a risk and play around with these themes in my work. I’m using iridescent paints and everything feels a bit sparkly and freer. I was definitely feeling a bit nervous about the unicorns but I’m actually really loving how they’ve turned out. It’s been a really incredible to make work with my daughter because she doesn’t censor herself. Taking risks is a really freeing and refreshing experience.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I draw inspiration from the beauty and severity of the western landscape. I’m particularly obsessed with the Eastern Sierra Nevadas. I feel a strong sense of immediacy in backpacking in the Sierra Nevada. I see a strong connection between that and the immediacy of experiencing a painting. Balancing restraint and abandon, I try to incite a memory of one’s body moving through nature. My recent work has been hugely influenced by my 8-year-old daughter. During Covid we’ve spent so many hours sketching and painting and talking about the work in my studio. We both love fantastical and mythical narratives. She encouraged me to add mythical creatures and animals in my most recent paintings. I love the narrative element these characters add to my work. The work has become a collaboration of sorts. Initially, it felt a bit risky to paint unicorns, but I really love the new paintings. And they have extra significance because they will always occupy this very specific moment in our lives together.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Visiting the Getty and Getty Villa on a sunny clear day is always a must do. The Broad Museum and MOCA both have great contemporary collections and hopping over to Hauser Wirth while downtown is always a great option. And it has the bonus of eating lunch at Manuela onsite. I always enjoy the shows at Night Gallery and usually also stop by a building on Santa Fe that houses Vielmetter, Nicodine, Galvak, and Wilding Cran. Then the Bread Lounge for Sandwiches and ice tea. Or if its later in the day Bestia is one of my favorites for dinner. I also love going to Chinatown. My first solo show in Los Angeles was at Black Dragon Society on Chung King Rd. These days I always stop by Charlie James gallery and Blossom Market. Of course there is also my art studio neighborhood, Inglewood, to check out. Residency Gallery always shows great emerging artists and I have an on going Window Art Project that features a rotating selection of local artists and can be viewed from the street on the corner of Market St and Manchester Blvd

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

So many people have helped and inspired me along the way. I’ve been lucky to have always been surrounded by so many engaged and ambitious artists. Roger Herman and Hubert Schmalix gave me my first solo show at Black Dragon Society in Los Angeles. It was such an innovative space showing really incredible and provocative work and definitely had a big impact on me. Most important has been being a part of the Los Angeles art community. There are so many talented artists working in this city and I feel so privileged to be a part of it.

Website: Elisajohns.com

Instagram: @elisajohns

Twitter: @elisamariejohns

Image Credits
Photos by Alan Shaffer @alanphoto1