1. By JAMES PEAK
Portland Press Herald
To gaze upon one of Diana Johnson’s
paintings is to travel through space and
time to a place you may once have been
or may yet to go, creating a longing for
a certain feeling or ethereal quality that
experience tells us is good.
Johnson, 58, calls it a “tangible sense
of atmosphere,” and it’s her way of shar-
ing what she notices about the world we
live in through the Maine landscapes she
paints in oils or pastels.
Admirers are taking notice as well.
The artist’s paintings are on exhibit at
three galleries in Wiscasset, Portland
and Yarmouth, and last year she received
the Award of Excellence at the Pastel
Painters of Maine’s annual exhibition and
Best in Show at Art in the Park in South
Portland. She also has had her work in-
cluded in exhibitions at the National Arts
Club and the Salmagundi Club in New
York City.
Johnson is a Maine artist through and
through, getting her start at a relatively
young age growing up on Alba Street in
Portland.
“Luckily, my mother encouraged
my love of “making things” throughout
my childhood. At the age of 11 she gave
me $1.50 every Saturday morning, and
I would walk one mile and climb three
flights of stairs to take art lessons in Es-
ther Barney’s studio apartment.”
Johnson later would go on to earn a
B.S. in art education and later a master’s
degree in adult education from the Uni-
versity of Southern Maine, and though
she now lives in Freeport, where she’s
been since 1991, her time in Portland is
very much a part of who she is today.
“I grew up in Portland and as a child
spent as much time outdoors as possible.
Many favorite memories involved explor-
ing and discovering the wonders of my
surroundings. I was lucky to be able to
wander to my heart’s content as a child,”
she says.
Today, her wanderings sometimes
take her Downeast, but mostly she paints
within 30 minutes of her home.
“I feel so fortunate to live in Maine.
The beauty that surrounds us here is
magical. I recently went to Bar Harbor
with a painting buddy and painted in
Acadia. I try to paint on Monhegan every
year, and also join many of my painting
friends in Pemaquid every June.”
These places have drawn artists
through the years, often because of the
quality of light that can be found there.
Sense of atmosphere
suffuses artist’s work
Diana
Johnson is an
accomplished
painter who
works in pastels
and oils. Last
summer, she
won Best of
Show at Art in
the Park for the
painting, “Late
Day Sun.” She
also teaches art
in Yarmouth,
Cumberland
and Freeport,
where she lives.
Photo courtesy Diana Johnson
Best of Show winner
discovered art as child
growing up in Portland
See ARTIST, Page 4