Born in Dumfries, Scotland, Alison Johnston studied at Edinburgh College of Art under Elizabeth Blackadder, Sir Robin Philipson and Harry More Gordon. Following graduation her career flourished in illustration and animation for Oscar-nominated “Fireman Sam” and “AArdman Animations”.
‘A continuous thread in my work has been the compulsion to explore time. The passage of time can only be perceived by changes. My background in animation compelled me to explore changing images with precision, and this process has developed my inner capacity of observation of nature in the act of creating my work. What we experience is affected by the moment before and the moment after. My starting point is a place and my relationship to that place, building up layers of attachment over time . I am often inspired to repeatedly visit the same subject and find this deepens my awareness, Whilst observing the place subconscious responses will also come into play. It is not just what you see but how you see it. Time unfolds along with different timelines both physical and dynamic – the ticking of the clock, the tide filling the rockpools, and the knowledge of the place.’
Alison has exhibited widely throughout the UK. Her commissions include Dire Straits, Peter Gabriel, and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Self-taught or art school?
Graduated with a BA(Hons) Edinburgh College of Art, but the learning never stops.
If you could own one work of art what would it be?
Can I cheat and choose the title of Monet’s ‘Grande Decoration’, which encompasses all his massive panels at the Musee de l’Orangerie? The effect of surround painting is breathtaking.
How would you describe your style?
In describing my work I would say it is predominantly a blue palette, usually with a visible horizon with threadlike marks that lead you into the composition and hold you there.
Can you tell us about your artistic process?
My process is organic. I sometimes sketch out an idea but often I just start with an image that intrigues me and I create a composition around it in a loose way on the canvas. I work with quite thin paint and glazes that I build up gradually. Once I have established my composition and my main palette for the work I spend a lot of time working out certain balances. As the work is quite complex chromatically, I need to find the right equilibrium before I feel the work is complete.
Is narrative important within your work?
My paintings open the door to exposing a reality, a phenomenology that only the viewer’s eye can conjure, not physically seen by any other. This will inspire individual narrative.
Who are your favourite artists and why?
I admire many artists and appreciation of their work provides continuous inspiration. Depending on my train of thought I will find different aspects striking up a dialogue with me. Victoria Crowe is a favourite, working with repeated motifs, and the idea that we are small beings among great immovable forces.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell with his striking colour composition. And Edwin Dickinson, an American Expressionist and Neo-Romanticist also rate highly at the moment.
What or who inspires your art?
I am inspired by everyday observations, the weather, huge skies… I guess it is a multitude of things that come together.
Where’s your studio and what’s it like?
My studio is situated right beside my house and looks out onto our garden and fields. There are three swans carved in stone above the entrance, which are in Nordic imagery for past, present, and future. The studio was once a Blacksmith’s working with hot fires and metal, it is currently my painting studio shared with Iona Hall, a silversmith. Who knows what it’s purpose will be in the future.
Do you have any studio rituals?
I go to the beach most days, and start the day with explorative sketching before taking on the task of the day, it really helps to wake up the creative flow. It may be that I stay at the beach to do many studies for my painting, or I may go back to the studio to continue my work on canvas. I love to have radio 4 or audiobooks playing but I find I only hear the start as I hear nothing when fully concentrating on my work. I don’t always realise until I try to recount what I heard and find I don’t have a clue.
What are you working on currently?
I am excited about my new pieces that are in preparation for North East Open Studios www.northeastopenstudios.co.uk 11-19th September.
My art can be purchased from Smiddy Studio, Hopeman Road, Duffus, Elgin, Moray, IV30 5RR or contact me through Instagram @alisonjohnstonartwork or my website www.alisonjohnston.co.uk. If you sign up for my newsletter I can keep you posted on exhibitions and where my work is currently for sale.
