JOHANNA was born in the Netherlands and moved with her family to Alberta, Canada at a young age. Her upbringing in a European household focused on the importance of art and music as part of daily life. She practiced piano diligently, but in her teenaged years started to focus on art, which came more naturally to her.

Having received excellent instruction in art at the high school level, Johanna decided to continue her art training at the University of Calgary, receiving her Education degree majoring in Fine Arts. A couple of trips to Europe in the 70's included a “Study Abroad” program in Florence, Italy. Johanna has had the privilege to study the art of many European countries. When she came home, she continued studies at the University of Alberta and Summer Series at Red Deer College.

In 1991, Edmonton Public Schools changed art classrooms into computer labs at the elementary schools. Seeing a niche market for her training, Johanna started her own business, “Originals Art Studio,” mentoring many award-winning students over the past 30 years.

Johanna was recently named as one of the "Top 60 Masters of Contemporary Art" by Art Tour International Magazine, New York. Recent shows in New York and Paris have raised her profile to an international level.

Johanna's work can be found in private collections and public spaces across Canada, in the United States, Europe and Japan.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Currently, I am working on my "Selfie-portrait Series," a series consisting of twelve works sized 12 inches (30 cm) square. I am inspired by "selfies" taken by students on my Instagram feed. For the first time in art history, the models are taking pictures of themselves en masse, creating a new genre in art. I am attracted by the unique compositions and perspective this square format dictates. I have also started a new "Fashion Series" where I make select creative cuts from a variety of magazines (recycling) and paint the resulting compositions. Both these series have recently garnered the attention of the international market and have also appeared in a number of well known magazines.