Candice Johnson Artist Statement

When I paint words, ego and the desire to please the world disappear. I paint to capture a memory of a vague feeling, perhaps a universal dream. I use the face, visage, or Tete as the vehicle to express these known but indefinable emotions that emerge from my gut. I put the brush down and begin to observe the Faces. The ones I choose or work on further are those Faces that begin to talk to me or put more simply: the ones that make me feel. The others, that have no life, are turned upside down or sideways and painted over giving texture and substance to the next Face that will appear.

I paint with acrylic and use inks and pastels and often will play with other materials that I add to the paint and canvas. My Faces are most often painted on paper and then marouflaged to a canvas. I have chosen to work in small formats so my collectors can participate in the creative process and choose their personal tableau of emotions and decide the placement of each Face. I also want my art to be affordable and this concept of small formats allows beginning collectors to own my work and add to their collection as their budget permits.

My work is uncommonly contemporary but is stamped with artistic traditions. My energy and force could be compared to Expressionism and color usage to the Fauvists. My deformations of the Face are often described as Picassoesque. My ability to dig deep and release the child archetype when I paint can be viewed in the naïve Art Brut style of Jean Dubuffet. The usage of taking a single subject and multiplying it to make an expanded story can be found in Pop Art. However you define or interpret my work it is unique, compelling and touching and truly my own.