Greg Johannesen

About the Artist

Greg Johannesen was born and raised in Virginia Beach and has been creating art all his life.  He grew up a surfer and naturalist. He was fortunate to be recognized for his talent while in first grade, receiving an art award for a Thanksgiving scene.  Ever since then, he has not stopped drawing or painting or doing something related to creativity and art.   The outdoors and nature have always been part of his art experience. Early on Greg showed an affinity for nature by drawing wildlife. Later, that interest manifested in drawings and paintings of beach and waterway scenes. He followed his passion for art and received a degree from Tidewater Community College for Advertising Design with a minor in Drawing before attending Virginia Commonwealth University where he earned a BFA in illustration. Greg has been working in the creative field for over 25 years. It was not until he married and moved to Southern Maryland that he opened his own studio where he currently works full-time as a fine artist, illustrator, and graphic designer. He can now freely work on expressing his art using the Chesapeake Bay area as his inspiration. Greg is a member of the Illustrators Club of Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia, the Mid Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association (Signature Member), the Society of Children’s Book Illustrators, American Society of Marine Artist, the Pastel Society of America, and the Maryland Pastel Society (Signature Member).  He has been featured in PleinAir Magazine, Southern Maryland This is Living Magazine, and in Gary Pendleton's book, 100 Plein Air Painters of the Mid-Atlantic.  He has work in the permanent collection of the Academy Art Museum in Easton, MD, the Chart House Corporate Collection in Virginia,  the Avian Corporate Collection in St. Mary's, Maryland, E. Morgan and Joan C. Massey private collection in Richmond, Virginia and work in numerous other corporate and private collections. His work is available in carmen’s gallery, Solomons, MD.  

Artist's Statement

As an artist I am drawn to many subjects in nature and life that inspire me. My impressions vary from the play of light on a boat in the bay, to patterns and textures of a corn field, to the striking composition of clouds in the sky. One of my main goals is capturing the fleeting effects of sunlight on the world around us. My most recent work has been inspired by the local landscape. From Annapolis to Solomons Island to Point Lookout there are so many aspects of Southern Maryland that leave a lasting impression on me. My process begins by taking my “studio” out doors, painting en plein air, so that I can experience that which I am humbly trying to recreate on paper. I find that immersing myself in the outdoors somehow liberates my creativity.