The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/377200
A6 6 O-Town Scene Sept. 4, 2014 Artist of the Month: Johanna Lerwick 'Tranquility,' oil on canvas From The Artists' Palette: Johanna Lerwick, an wildlife/nature artist working in oil, was born and raised on a farm in upstate New York. In Lerwick's mid-20s, she moved to Guam, where she began to pick up the liking for photog- raphy. Soon after returning to the United States, she began dabbling with pen and ink and in time she started painting oil, sea and landscapes. "More of a hobby than anything else," she insists. "I liked to create scenes that reminded me of my home, when I would miss the countryside I would paint it." In the years following her move back to New York, Lerwick concentrated on raising her son and soon opened her farm-related business. Her love for animals continued as did her love for art, although it would be another 15 years until she picked up her brushes. Over that 15 years,a lot of things in her life changed and when the time came to start painting again, she knew it. In the time she had stepped away from her art, she had traveled throughout the United States, had gone to Africa on safari, she went to the depths of the Amazon, and home again. By the 1990s, when the artist decided to take a renewed look at her desire to paint, she knew this time she would broaden her subject matter to include her passion for wildlife. Today, she contin- ues to paint nature and wildlife scenes. Since 1992, Lerwick has produced hundreds of paintings and has been showing and selling her work throughout the upstate New York region. Most recently two of the artist's paintings were selected as finalists for the The Artist's Magazine 31st Annual Art Competition. Lerwick's work can be viewed at the artist's website, www.johannalerwick.com or www. johanna-lerwick.artistwebsites.com. About the Artist 'Stormy Clouds,' oil on masonite Joanna Lerwick's nature paintings are on dis- play at The Artists' Palette in Norwich. The gallery recently celebrated its grand re-opening at 17-19 S. Broad St. Lerwick's paintings appear as part of a group show titled "The Beauty of Nature and Wildlife," which also includes paintings by Deborah Smith and woodworking by Joe Keto. The exhibit is on display at the gallery until Sept. 22. About the Art