Melissa Johnson

Melissa Johnson’s art reflects the land and her place in it. Much like her background, the places Melissa paints are multilayered and built up over time. Raised all over the Midwest by supportive adopted parents, Melissa sought out a creative life. Even during her many years working in the banking industry as a paralegal, she painted at night. Originally an art major, she obtained a BS in Management. Years later she returned to art school and earned her MFA. Melissa worked realistically for many years until she discovered the cold wax medium. This introduced abstraction to her work and the addition of metal leaf and other materials. Drawing upon years of plein air painting, she paints the environment and the feeling you get from being outdoors. Today this is reflected in her multilayered work which is built up over time, much like the mountains and desert surrounding her. Her work has been shown at the Governor’s Mansion in Nebraska and in numerous shows in St. Louis, Scottsdale, Tucson, and Italy. She has been a full time artist for nearly a decade and currently lives with her husband outside of Tucson AZ.