Collection: Artist: Donna Johnson

Donna is an artist and retired Julian psychotherapist who resides in Atlanta,GA and Cashiers, NC. She earned a BFA at the University of Tennessee in 2003. She received an MA in painting at Savannah College of Art & Design specializing in encaustic painting in 2008. As a certified teacher of sandplay therapy, she has been an avid studier and teacher of archetypal symbolism which frequently appears in her work. A number of her paintings have been published in the Journal of Sandplay Therapy due to their archetypal content. Her painting Flower People aired on Season 1 of "The Resident" on FOX. She was awarded first place for her entry of Balancing Act in the 2020 New Beginnings show at the Encaustic Art Institute in Santa Fe, NM. Her work has been published in FORM: artistic independence 2009, Atlanta, and Metamorphosis: Contemporary Statements in Encaustic. She is a fellow of the Hambidge Artist Residency with two residencies there. Her work can be seen in galleries in both Atlanta, GA  and Santa Fe, NM


Artist Statement

”My work is first of all about color – both the intensity and the sanctity of color; secondly psychological change; and thirdly spiritual transformation. Having the pleasure of residing in the mountains part of the year, nature finds its way into my work to my delight. As an intuitive painter, I reflect on the interconnectedness of all living creatures. Much of my work has autobiographical inspiration. Following a recent major spine surgery in which the successful outcome depended on my body’s production of bone around the site, I became fascinated in my paintings with rock and bone formations. These abstract pieces move in the fanciful direction of my imagination and the play of color and texture. Encaustic and cold wax media provide a potent richness of hue and an innate capacity to both absorb and exude light.”