Mark your calendar!

• Friday October 8th
• 6-10pm
• (the Art Crawl in Lowertown is 3 days long, but I will only be showing my paintings on Friday)
• Location #4 on this MAP

I will be showing paintings, prints and also several new sketches.  Friday night is a great night to come out to the Art Crawl as it is by far the most lively night to explore the Lowertown neighborhood, there will be about 20 artists showing at the Historic Lowertown Lofts Coop & we are with in a few blocks of several places to grab some food or a drink before or after touring studios.  Some of my recommends: Tanpopo,  BIN, The Bulldog, The Black Dog, FACES, Barrio, Senor Wong, Christos, Goldens Deli (call for hours).

Moon Over 2nd Shift acrylic on maple board, 5″ x 7″ copyright Dana M Johnson 2010

The moon and bit of clouds were very vibrant last night in St Paul.  In my studio, with the window open, sounds mark the time of day.  I hear the 2nd shift post office employees starting up their cars, knowing that I should probably think about cleaning up my paint for the night and go to sleep.

These are just some of the people I saw outside of the Art Institute of Chicago last week on a visit to the city.  I traveled on the overnight Megabus from Minneapolis to Chicago, which was cheap, and that’s about all I can say about that!  Most of all I enjoyed walking around the city taking in the daily life on the streets and parks.  Millennium Park really needs to be experienced in person.  I had read about the park in Landscape Architecture Magazine but it was even better than I had expected!  The Jay Pritzker Pavilion designed by Frank Gehry, is definitely the most unique concert venue I’ve been to.  The entire park was full of life, which proves that if you build it and have interesting things to see and do people will come out to play!  Other highlights in Chicago:  Old Town Ale House whose walls are covered in paintings (Nude and Political)  by Bruce Elliot, dessert at Hot Chocolate where the walls are covered in art by Jared & Jessica Joslin & a wonderful educational river tour by the Chicago Architecture Foundation, a great way to see the city.

* special thanks to Chicago resident, friend & songwriter Josh Leahy you can check out his music HERE

Lowertown Alley, acrylic on maple board, copyright 2010 4″x4″

The story starts HERE:

Pioneer Press Article about Itizen HERE:

If you have one of these paintings passed along to you please take a minute to write about your week & then pass it along to a friend.

The experiment will conclude August 1st 2011, if you have a painting on this date please email me dana@danamjohnson.com, if I can track them down I’d like pay to ship them back.

Night Bus, acrylic on maple board, copyright 2010 4″x4″

I ran across Itizen recently, “a place to tell, share & follow the life stories of interesting things”.  The way it works is you can order sticker tags which have a code number on them (some also have a QR Code), put them on anything register that item & code and tell that objects’ story.  Naturally the first thing I thought of was putting a sticker on a painting & hope that someone writes about their experience living with that painting.  In an economy where purchasing a painting is not a common priority, I think this could be a fun way to live with art (for a week) & then pass it along for someone else to enjoy.  I have 3 small square paintings to pass along with instructions on the back,

The story starts HERE:

If you have one of these paintings passed along to you please take a minute to write about your week & then pass it along to a friend.

The experiment will conclude August 1st 2011, if you have a painting on this date please email me dana@danamjohnson.com, if I can track them down I’d like pay to ship them back.

Big Green Market Bag, watercolor on paper

Out of Bed and to the Market, watercolor on paper

Market Counter, watercolor on paper

Three quick sketches from the park bench by the farmers market.   I love people watching and there really isn’t a better place than the St Paul Farmers Market.  Despite all of the construction in Lowertown, people venture out to fill up their canvas bags with greens, sample the local honey & grab a coffee from Golden’s Deli.  In the hour or so I sat this morning I saw many friends and strangers, including many local celebrities and artists.

Lawrenz Jewelry & Paintings by Dana M Johnson 

Open Air Festival of Art

• Saturday June 12:  9 – 5pm
• Sunday June 13th: 10 – 3pm

View Larger Map

Festival Website

Finished painting for the State Theatre Box Office, Eau Claire WI

Here you can see the scale of the finished work, 2 panels total of 8 ft x 8 ft.  It will be installed in the next week or so above the box office at the State Theatre.  If you are in Eau Claire WI stop by the gallery & ask to see it in person, or check out the State Theatre calendar of events to see an upcoming performance, including Steve Martin who is going to be at the State Theatre on July 26.

Camper, watercolor on paper copyright 2010

Southern MN Evening, watercolor on paper copyright 2010

A few images from the sketchbook & on the road in Southern MN!  Have a great memorial day weekend-