chairs

Why Chairs?

Hi there. How are you?

One of the last pieces I made before my art-making hiatus was this chair. As my long time readers know, I have a real thing for chairs, and have illustrated them for years. Though this chair series started on a whim, I kept on drawing chairs because I find them profoundly interesting. Chairs have personality and style and often serve as stand-in for people in my work. 

With composition, text and even lighting, a chair can look sad.

Sad Chair Illustrations by Jennifer Johansson

They can be happy and lighthearted too.

Lighthearted Chair Illustrations

Most of all I drew chairs because they were fun to draw.

I like the way I could make them pop off the page with light and shadow. I liked drawing chipped paint and rust, spindles, and cast shadows. I also liked my patron's reactions to them. In the beginning, every chair I produced would sell within a year of it being made. That's really gratifying!

Even though I haven't been drawing chairs so much anymore, I still seek them out and photograph them when I'm out and about.

Here are some of the chairs I've photographed recently.

Abandoned Chair
Scratch Brewery
San Diego Coffee Shop

And here is the chair that inspired my most recent chair illustration.

I took this photo out at the home of our friends Kelley and Tom. I sure do love a good, worn chair! I decided to make the chair red, so that it popped from the background. It felt, good to make a chair again. Like riding a bike, it all came back to me.

This chair piece, entitled " The Livin' is Easy" is now for sale! Click the link below to snatch it up.

And one more thing...

Do you have a special chair that you'd like me to illustrate?  Do get in touch.  I love doing custom pieces.

Ta-Ta for now.

The "June 20" are Finally Complete!

"Scratch", 8"x8", collaged paper, black ballpoint ink and white Prismacolor pencil on cradled hardboard, $250.
Well hi there! How are you? Did you miss me?

I'm sorry I've left this blog inactive for such a long time. I just haven't had the time or the will to write.  The bug to blog finally hit again, so here I am!

I'm proud to report that I have finally met my goal of crafting 20 new pieces in the month of June! Well, actually, I made 19 new pieces in June and just got around to #20 (pictured here) this week. Better late than never right? You can see all 20 pieces here.

This new piece is based on a photo I shot out at Scratch Brewery, in Ava, Illinois. Scratch has quickly become one of our favorite places in Southern Illinois.  Out in the middle of nowhere, the Scratch team has built a charming indoor/outdoor tasting room where they brew and serve incredibly tasty beers. Yum! Scratch is filled with all sorts of interesting chairs, so you'll be seeing more pieces based on photos I've shot there.

So let's talk about this new piece. I was immediately drawn to the contrast of the mismatched wooden chairs against the rusty red siding. I had actually photographed this spot on several different trips to Scratch, but finally captured the perfect shot/lighting on our last visit. As my followers know, I'm very drawn to cast shadows, and I liked the shadows these chairs cast onto the siding.

This piece is indeed for sale! I don't tend to list these larger originals on Etsy as they don't sell there, so if you are interested in this one, do shoot me an email.

Do let me know what you think of this new piece! Hope all is well in your world. Ta-Ta!

We Bought a Fixer - The Built-in got Bigger!



Hi again. How are you?
I had a really productive day in my studio, pumping out some new work. 
I just couldn't tear myself away to write my Wednesday post until now! 


A few weeks back, Matt added a little extension to our built-in.


He constructed a desk to span the space between the bookcase and the entertainment center.
Pretty smart use of space if I do say so myself! 
Despite the fact that there are "his and hers" chairs here, Matt has claimed this as his domain. 
I'm totally OK with that....as I have my "secret room" studio.
(I promise to show you my studio when I get it fully decorated!)



We recently picked up this sharp looking desk chair at a yard sale for $5. What a steal!
We love its warm, worn look, and clean lines. 



I've had this chair in my personal collection for years.
I love the way it plays against the dark, heavy desk chair. 


Well, that's all I've got to say about that. 
What you you think about our newest DIY? Do tell!
 
P.S. Be on the look out for new listings in my Etsy shoppe any day now!