Stories behind art are fascinating. Artists use their brushes, paint, canvases and tools to create stories like writers use a pen and paper. Here artists reveal the inspiration behind their masterpieces. It’s a rare opportunity to not guess but hear how the work was born first hand.  

One Artist. One Story

Ronn Johnson, born in Franklin, Ohio, holds an AB degree in Drama and Business from Morehead State University, Morehead, KY and lives in St. Petersburg, FL. His informal art training includes set design, residential decorating, faux painting and retail display.  All these traits can be seen in his work.

Leaf Series by Ronn Johnson. Mixed Midia 

“On a road trip through New England we stopped in a picturesque town.  There was a rather grand New England style hotel that had become a 5-star Convention Resort.  Being the curious artists that we are, we embarked on a self-guided tour.  On one large wall was a collection of 50 or more small framed items.  They were all laurel or magnolia leaves that had been preserved and enhanced with designs.  I was totally fascinated by the concept and drama of the presentation and it has stayed in my mental art file for a while.

The idea of a leaf series has been brewing since.  I knew I did not want to work with real leaves, so it struck me to make my own leaves from watercolor paper.  I cut leaves using real magnolia leaves as a template, and then tea dyed the paper soaking in liquid for several days.  Next the leaves were folded and shaped and left to dry.

Each set of leaves has been decorated with acrylic paint and pens, collage added, then enhanced with found objects and mounted on acrylic painted backboard.  Other sets have been made by cutting the leaves from old watercolor paintings, soaking and molding, shaping and drying.  The original pattern was then enhanced with watercolor or acrylic paint.”

See the complete collection at ronnjartist.weebly.com