'Taos Is Art' Banner

More highlights since moving to Taos. For the past three years, I've been honored to have my artwork selected for the 'Taos Is Art' Banner competition to celebrate and acknowledge the living artists of Taos County.

2020 'Taos Is Art' Banner

This year my banner is hanging on the east side of the Taos Plaza.

"After the Storm", 24" x 36", oil on canvas

Here is the full painting for you to see. As the banners are long and vertical, I used a thin slice of this horizontal piece.

This painting sold back in early February, pre-Covid-19, that now seems like a lifetime ago. At the time, I was thrilled to get news of the sale on the same day I got news from the Town of Taos that they had accepted my art for the banner!

Life has now changed dramatically, but know that art is still alive and thriving throughout the world, and more important than ever for our collective well-being.

2019 'Taos Is Art' Banner

Here is my 2019 banner. In 2019, the Taos Arts Council partnered with SOMOS, the literary organization, to create Poetry and Art in Public Places. I was honored to have my piece chosen for the project.

Eighteen Taos poets each selected a single art image from the Banner Project and wrote an Ekphrasis Poem inspired by the piece of art. [Ekphrasis is art inspired by another art form, primarily from painting.] Margery Reading wrote a beautiful poem to pair with my painting.

     "Until That Moment", 24" x 24", oil on canvas                      

Here is the full painting for my 2019 banner. The banners are long and narrow, and I'm primarily painting square, so I used a slice of one of my paintings.

2018 'Taos Is Art' Banner

Here is the full painting used for my 2018 banner.

"Radiance", oil on canvas, 24" x 24"

                     

"Seduced by Color"

For the month of August, I have a solo exhibit hanging at the Canfield Gallery in Arlington, VT. There are thirty-one pieces hanging in the show, representing many of my recent series. Here is a link to the collection of paintings in the show, "Seduced by Color". There are sky paintings from my "Sky Sonata" series, flower paintings from my "Garden of Desire" series, meadow paintings, and a number of my newest more abstract landscapes.

"Tumbling Down", 16" x 12", oil on canvas

The Canfield Gallery is located at the lower level of the Martha Canfield Library, 528 E. Arlington Road, Arlington, VT. Gallery hours are: Tues. & Thurs. 9-8, Wed. 9-5, Fri. 2-6, Sat. 10-3. 802-375-6153.
The show will be on view until August 30th.

Opening Reception, Saturday September 18th, 5-8pm

"Autumn Fields", 16" x 16", oil on linen, Lydia Johnston


Please join us for the opening reception Saturday, September 18th from 5-8pm at the Bennington Arts Guild. The exhibit will run from September 18th until October 11th. I will be showing pieces from my "Sky Sonata" series as well as some of my flower paintings.

Each month the Bennington Arts Guild invites two artists to exhibit in their guest gallery. I will be showing my oil paintings along with potter, Ray Bub, who will be exhibiting his ceramic art. For more information about the Lydia Johnston - Ray Bub exhibition, please visit Guest Gallery Opening.


"The Old Barn", 20" x 30", oil on canvas

The Bennington Arts Guild Gallery is located at 103 South Street at the Four Corners intersection of Downtown Bennington. It is a cooperative gallery run by artists from Bennington and the surrounding communities, open daily except Tuesdays and Wednesdays. For more information call 802-442-7838 or visit Bennington Arts Guild.

Lydia Johnston's Open Studio Tour

Come visit my art studio as part of a House Tour in Pownal, Vermont. The goal of the tour is to demonstrate how energy technology has influenced architectural design through the ages. There will be five houses on the tour, the oldest from 1740, with a central chimney/vertical thermal mass, to the most recent, a highly insulated thermal mass house built in 2009. My house is an energy efficient ferrocement dome house, off the grid with a photovoltaic electric system.

The tour will take place Saturday, June 26th, from 11am to 4pm. The tour begins at The Studio Club Artworks, 3301 Rte 7 in Pownal Center, where you can pick up a map to locate the five houses. The tour is free. There is a brief video to view about the homes on the tour. Two of the homes demonstrate alternative energy methods using solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, and thermal mass. The five houses showcased are as follows:

Moore/Wright Defoe House, 1740

Quarry Hill Farm House, 1820

Victorian House, 1890

Dome House, 1985

Jordan Schell-Lambert House, 2009

In conjunction with participating in the house tour, I will be opening my art studio as part of the tour. This is your opportunity to see the beautiful spot where I paint my impressionistic landscapes, and view the various paintings in the studio that aren't out at a gallery yet.


"Summer Days", 36" x 48", oil on canvas, Lydia Johnston

People love to see my studio because it gives a feeling for how and where I work. You can see work that is experimental as well as pieces that are not yet finished.

So mark your calendars for Saturday, June 26th, and come participate in the House Tour in Pownal to learn more about energy and home designs.

If you would like more information about my Open Studio Tour, feel free to email me at: art@lydiajohnston.com or call 802-823-7713.
For further questions about the Pownal House Tour, please call 802-823-5328.

Lenox Art Walk on Memorial Day Weekend

"Flowering Meadow", 18" x 24", oil on canvas, Lydia Johnston

This Memorial Day Weekend I will be participating once again in the Lenox Spring Art Walk. The art walk will be held both Saturday and Sunday, May 29th and 30th, from 11 am to 5 pm each day. There will be demonstrations and opportunities to meet with artists.


"Dreaming of Flowers I", 8" x 9", oil on linen

I will be outside the Lenox Gallery of Fine Art at 69 Church Street on both days. During the art walk I will be displaying some of my smaller paintings, not regularly shown in the gallery, as well as giclée reproductions of some of my favorites. Please stop by and say hello, and then step into the gallery to see my newest large works.

"Sky Sonatas"

"Sky Sonata XXIV", 10" x 10", oil on linen, Lydia Johnston

I just hung "Sky Sonatas", an exhibit of twenty-eight of my new sky paintings, in Spiral Press Café at Northshire Bookstore, Manchester, VT. Nine are mid to large paintings, and the rest smaller ones.

“I want my paintings to have mystery, to allude to the familiar while remaining wholly ambiguous. I'm not interested in supplying all the details of a specific place. I want there to be more than one interpretation. By hinting at things, I hope to trigger your imagination; I want you, the viewer, to bring some of your own experiences and recollections to the process. This collaboration allows you to connect in a profound way. I want you to sink into my art and be transported.”


"Sky Sonata XV", 10" x 13", oil on linen

Many of the new small oil paintings hanging in the exhibit are not yet up on my website, so I put together a page that shows all of these paintings. Just click HERE to see all twenty-eight paintings in the show. They will be hanging until June 2nd.

Think Spring

"Spring Gems", 30" x 40", oil on linen, Lydia Johnston

After a glorious week of early spring weather, I awoke to a new covering of snow. At least it gives me snow light in my studio. I am fully immersed in a number of new large meadow paintings.


"Hidden Path", 24" x 30", oil on canvas

Last week I delivered these four new meadow paintings to the Lenox Gallery of Fine Art.



"Spring Sun", 30" x 30", oil on linen

If you have a chance, stop in to the gallery to see the paintings. The originals have such vibrant colors compared to the online images.


"Summer Grasses", 30" x 40", oil on canvas

Bennington, VT Art Exhibit, 100 for $100

"Summer Sonata", 7" x 8", oil on linen, Lydia Johnston

The second annual "One Hundred for $100" Art Exhibit and Sale will be taking place in downtown Bennington, VT this coming Friday, March 19th, and Saturday March 20th, 2010. The event will be held in the 210 South Street Building, Bennington, VT. The exhibit is from 6-9pm Friday evening and 10-2pm on Saturday. The event is free and open to the public.

One hundred works of original art by local and regional artists will be exhibited and offered for sale. All 100 pieces of art will be priced at just $100. There will be paintings, mixed media, jewelry, photography, sculpture, pottery, fiber arts, and more.


"Sky Sonata XXIII", 7" x 8", oil on linen


I will have four small original oil paintings in the exhibit, all from my ongoing "Sky Sonata" series.

A special feature this year will be an exclusive preview of the exhibit from 5-6pm with champagne, hors d'oeuvres, and live smooth jazz by Blueprint. Tickets for the preview event are $15/person at the door or $12 in advance. Tickets are available in advance at the Downtown Welcome Center.


"Sky Sonata III", 6.5" x 9", oil on linen

At 6pm the doors will open to the public, admission is free, and the artwork will be available for sale. Come enjoy an evening of live entertainment, appetizers, cash bar, and purchase one of the 100 beautiful pieces of art that were jury selected from over 350 entries. Meet with the artists and learn about their techniques and inspirations.

On Saturday, the doors open again from 10-2pm, your final opportunity to find that perfect piece of art for only $100, a price you won’t find in galleries or stores. The proceeds of the event benefit the non-profit Better Bennington Corporation.


"Sky Sonata XIX", 7" x 8", oil on linen

210 South Street is located on the corner of South St. and Hillside St.(directly across from Friendly's Restaurant). There is plenty of parking in the rear of the building and the exhibit is handicap accessible with an elevator located in the glass atrium at the front of the building.

For more information please call the Better Bennington Corporation at 802-442-5758 or visit Better Bennington Corporation.

The Allure of Ambiguity

I want my paintings to have mystery, to allude to the familiar while remaining wholly ambiguous. I'm not interested in supplying all the details of a specific place. I want there to be more than one interpretation.


"December Light", 18" x 24", oil on linen, Lydia Johnston


By hinting at things, I hope to trigger the viewer's imagination, I want the viewer to bring some of his own experiences and recollections to the process. This collaboration allows the viewer to connect in a profound way. It allows the viewer to sink into the scene and be transported.

"Warm Glow"

"Warm Glow", 18" x 24", oil on linen, Lydia Johnston

Bask in the warm glow of light spreading over the fields and glinting on the treetops towards the end of the day. On this rainy Saturday, I look at this painting and I can feel the sunshine.

Color in the Air

"Sky Sonata VII", 16" x 16", oil on linen, Lydia Johnston

Not the most spectacular fall colors this year, but I always love the change. It's a magical time when the air is infused with color. I soak it up before the drabness of winter sets in.


16" x 16", oil on linen

The Silver Lining

"Sky Sonata IV", 10" x 10", oil on linen, Lydia Johnston


What a productive time I have had for the past three weeks. Once I was able to get back to my studio, I have been having the most fantastic time, that's the silver lining to the accident and not being able to paint for four weeks. Obviously all kinds of ideas were percolating in me during that time of healing. Everything coalesced, and I feel like I have been turning out my best paintings ever.

I have been working at a manic rate, in part as a response after my forced leave and partly because Tom, my partner has been out of town. There have been no distractions, just me and my painting. Now it’s time for me to slow down and catch my breath. I seem to be back to my old pace. Slowly working through a new painting, Applying the first layer, processing it, continuing a few days later once the first layer is dry. I miss the euphoria of the first few days back in my studio, but I knew I couldn’t sustain that pace. Coming up with new ideas and processing them takes time.

New paintings to Lenox Gallery of Fine Art

"Meadow Treasures", 24" x 30", oil on canvas, Lydia Johnston

Today I delivered two new paintings to the Lenox Gallery of Fine Art in Lenox, MA. "Meadow Treasures" is the last of my gem series of meadow paintings, for now. And "Awakening" is my newest large painting in a series of big sky paintings I am working on.


"Awakening", 30" x 40", oil on canvas

Creativity

"Awakening", 30" x 40", oil on canvas, Lydia Johnston

Create: to produce through artistic or imaginative effort

This has been an exciting time for me. I may have been out for four weeks, but now I have emerged bursting with ideas, and am turning out some of my best paintings.

I find it interesting that the definition for "create" speaks of artistic or imaginative "effort". During the first two weeks after my bicycle accident, there was no way I could even consider painting in my studio. I had no energy for anything but the healing process.

Creating takes a certain mind set, it does require "effort". As I began to be up and about, I could make myself do certain tasks, I could read, but there was no way I could make myself create. It's a little frightening to lose that ability when it is normally what you do on a daily basis.

By the fourth week I was able to finally return to my studio. And what a time I have been having. It's as though all kinds of ideas had been incubating while I was healing. The creativity is pouring out of me.

The first uninterrupted day, I painted a full 30" x 40" sky-scape, and except for one minor adjustment, it was all completed in a number of hours. I was completely drained by the end of that day, but exhilarated as well. And the following day I completed another small sky-scape.

I know I cannot sustain this level of output. Normally I hope to complete a painting in a week, and more likely it takes two or more weeks, with sustained effort. So I will revel in this flow of ideas and creativity.

Painting Skies

12" x 9", oil on linen, Lydia Johnston

Some people may disagree, but I have been loving the weather here in southern Vermont this summer. Cool temperatures, imagine 60's and 70's throughout June and July. Only now, by the third week in July, are we creeping up to the 80's. Chill evenings when a blanket is needed. Almost no humidity, so the air feels crisp and the mountains and ridges are clear.

And the ever changing skies, sun shining and then clouds building, the sky getting dark, and darker, and suddenly it's raining. Yes, we've had a lot of rain. But most days, before you know it, the sun is breaking out again, the clouds are scudding across the sky. I love it. The ever changing pattern and movement in our skies. And so I am focused on painting big skies.

Back in My Studio

11" x 8", oil on linen, Lydia Johnston

I'm finally back in my studio painting and it feels great. Four weeks ago I was injured in a bicycle accident, no broken bones, but I did a face plant on the pavement and suffered deep abrasions. No energy for anything but healing for the first two weeks. And then another two weeks impatiently waiting for the scrapes on my hands to fully close over so that I could safely work with oil paints.

So I started back on this small sky-scape, just 11" x 8". I had completed the under-painting in yellow ocher before the accident, so the values and composition were set. It's painted on the new linen I am starting to work with. What a pleasure to be back playing with color.

New paintings in Gem Series to Lenox Gallery of Fine Art

"Rubies and Sapphires", 30" x 40", oil on canvas, Lydia Johnston

I've just delivered two new paintings in my gem series of meadow paintings to the Lenox Gallery of Fine Art. I continue to experiment and play with different color ranges and different perspectives in these meadow paintings.


"Glowing Gems", 30" x 40", oil on canvas

"Rubies and Sapphires" is a close-up view; in "Glowing Gems" I have stepped back and taken in a larger scene.

New Paintings delivered to AZ Fine Arts, Wellesley Hills, MA

"Gold and Lavender", 20" x 30", oil on canvas, Lydia Johnston

I just delivered three new paintings to AZ Fine Arts, located in Wellesley Hills, MA, about a half hour west of Boston.


"Soaring", 20" x 30", oil on canvas

All three paintings are in my big sky series. I love working on big sweeping skies, playing with color and the sense of light.


"Evening Glow", 24" x 36", oil on canvas

If you have a chance, stop in to the gallery and see all the new work.

Spring Artwalk in Lenox, MA

"Morning Meadow", 30" x 40", oil on canvas, Lydia Johnston

This Memorial Day Weekend I will be participating once again in the 6th Annual Lenox Spring Artwalk. The artwalk will be held both Saturday and Sunday, May 23rd and 24th, from noon to 5 pm each day. Thirteen galleries in Lenox, MA will be open, with demonstrations and opportunities to meet with artists.


"Summer Morning", 30" x 40", oil on canvas

I will be at the Lenox Gallery of Fine Art at 69 Church Street on both days. Please stop by and see my newest works in the gallery. In addition, during the artwalk some of my smaller paintings, not regularly shown in the gallery, will be on display.


"Walking Thru Blossoms", 16" x 20", oil on canvas

Bennington, VT Art Exhibit, "100 for $100"

The opening reception for "One Hundred for $100" Art Exhibit and Sale will be taking place in Bennington, VT this coming Friday, March 20th, 2009. The reception will be from 5-9 pm at the Nichols Building, 457 Main Street, Bennington, VT.

There will be 100 pieces of original art including painting, mixed media, jewelry, photography, sculpture, pottery, fiber arts, and more, all created by local professional artists. All 100 pieces of art will be priced at just $100.

I will have five small original oil paintings in the exhibit, including "Up the Road", 7" x 5", shown above.

Come enjoy an evening of live entertainment, refreshments, and one hundred works of art, meet with the artists and learn about their techniques and inspirations.

A special feature during this first annual event will be the unveiling of Will Moses’ newest painting created for the Shires of Vermont. The long awaited unveiling will be the beginning of a four month tour for the painting throughout Bennington County before being auctioned off in the summer. Will Moses will be attending the event for the unveiling, as will local and state officials to help celebrate and support Bennington County marketing initiatives.

The exhibition and sale, cocktail reception, and unveiling will be Friday, March 20th from 5PM until 9PM, but the studio will reopen on Saturday, March 21st from 10AM until 4PM for an opportunity to enjoy and purchase works of art at a price you won’t find in galleries or stores.


"In the Vermont Hills", 5" x 7", oil on canvas, Lydia Johnston

Admission is free to the public.

For more information please call the Better Bennington Corporation at 802-442-5758 or visit http://www.betterbennington.com.