Jeff Lee Johnson categorizes his art thematically, focusing on horror, fantasy, and sci-fi.

The artist said that growing up five miles out of town in a small farming community gave him plenty of time to explore his feelings. “My mother was an avid reader of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, sharing her library with me freely, and the three channels we got on our TV replayed classic movies endlessly,” Johnson said. “I spent a lot of time either with my nose in her books or watching those old movies, playing the various roles in those stories, and gaining empathy and insight into a wide variety of personalities and situations. Switching from one genre to another in my art is not much harder than switching channels on the TV or picking up a new book.”

Jeff said this ability allows him to keep ‘fresh eyes’ throughout the process of creating a painting, which is very important for the artist’s career.

“One has to essentially see one’s painting as if for the first time each painting session so as to be able to assess how effectively the story is being told. I find it really useful to be able to jump from genre to genre and theme to theme as a way to wipe my mind of a train of thought, embrace another one fully, then go back with those fresh eyes and ‘see’ the previous painting anew. A mental palate cleanser, if you would.”