Contact: Anita Thomas: Work: 508-852-9007 Cell: 508-826-8075
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 17, 2016
Worcester, Massachusetts The Briarwood Community is pleased to announce the first public art exhibit in a series of six for 2017. Artist Linda Lee Johnson’s exhibit, “Characterizations in Oil” will be on display Sunday, Jan. 8 through Thursday, March 2 at The Gallery at Briarwood located at 65 Briarwood Circle, Worcester.
The opening reception will take place Sunday Jan. 8 between 2 p.m. and 4p.m. Guests will have an opportunity to meet Linda Lee Johnson personally. The reception is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
Johnson has selected 46 of her realistic oil paintings for the Gallery at Briarwood exhibit. Almost all involve people engaged in activities such as walking or interacting with other people. The settings are in cities, parks, stores, homes and other locations. “I try to make a point of some kind in each one, but I enjoy hearing how other people interpret what they see,” said Johnson of her work. You can see samples of Johnson’s work at http://webpages.charter.net/lljohn/.
Linda Lee Johnson grew up in two Detroit suburbs. She became interested in art when she was still a child. After discovering some talent for art (She won a school-wide contest), her mother sent me to art classes. She also took elective art courses in high school and college. “I excelled at portrait painting,“ said Johnson.
With many other interests–reading, writing, history, politics–Johnson decided to major in English in college, assuming one could not make a living as an artist. After teaching English and reading at Detroit and Phoenix high schools, she earned a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction at the University of Wisconsin and became a professor at the University of Iowa. Taking her artistic abilities for granted, she naturally applied them in her work whenever she could.
“I can’t leave out the extensive travel that I did before and after marrying. I studied one summer in Spain and hitchhiked through England and Scotland while I was in college. I traveled in several countries of Europe and spent a year teaching in Malaysia. When I wasn’t teaching that year, I traveled throughout Asia and Australia. After marrying, my husband and I traveled in every state of the United States (except Hawaii) and in most provinces of Canada. We also did some traveling in Europe and South America. During most of this time, I pursued my interests in birding and photography. These in turn influenced the painting I do now.”
In 2002, Johnson and her husband moved to Massachusetts where she began painting once more. Since then she completed numerous art courses at Worcester State University and at Worcester Art Museum. Her favorite art activity is painting portraits in pastels or oils at the Princeton Art Society Portrait Group. She has won several awards for her paintings.
The exhibit is open Mondays through Fridays from 10am-4pm. Group tours and those wishing to visit on weekends may make arrangements by contacting Anita Thomas at 508-852-9007 or by e-mailing amthomas@briarwoodsl.com.
In addition to Johnson, the Gallery at Briarwood exhibits scheduled for 2017 will feature artists Gene McCarthy, Sharon Smith Viles, Sue Sedgwick, photographer Ron Rosenstock and antique puzzle collector, Bob Armstrong.
Briarwood is a non-profit senior living community that includes Independent Living cottages & apartments, Assistance in Living services, and Knollwood Nursing Center for skilled nursing & rehabilitation services.