Each stroke of pastel breathes life into the clouds, playing with light and shadow to convey the ethereal beauty of the skies.
EXPLORE THE BEAUTY OF
~Big Skies~
Created in Soft Pastel By Artist Jai Johnson, Jackson, Tennessee
So why "Big Skies"? And why soft pastel? Let's talk about the second question first...
My studio is filled with so many art supplies, it's ridiculous! For years I've been exploring an extreme mixed media approach {including digital painting} to create backgrounds for my wildlife photography subjects. In fact, I created a whole business providing these backgrounds to other photographers! I'm the photographer, artist and designer behind DailyTexture.Com for the past 10 years. I still create for that business today, and I still am a wildlife and nature photographer. At the beginning of every new year, I love to challenge myself with something new. I usually start my own personal challenge at the end of the year, trying to get things rolling before the new year actually hits. :) My challenge usually comes about from asking myself questions, and this one came about by asking myself, if I could only use ONE MEDIUM to create with, which would it be? Which is my favorite? My answer: SOFT PASTEL I have always enjoyed the immediacy of both colored pencil and soft pastel. But soft pastel has a certain look, a certain allure to it, which I've always been passionate about. So at the end of 2023, I invested in higher quality soft pastel supplies, trying out many different brands of soft pastels and paper and tools. You can see my final favorites list on the bottom of this page. So why big skies, especially since I've been primarily a wildlife photographer and artist, with a large focus on birds, for almost 20 years? Part of my decision has to do with emotions. One of my favorite things I've loved every time I go out and watch for wildlife with my camera is the big and beautiful skies I see and photograph in the many wide open spaces I visit. When the quarantine time period hit, and we were ordered to stay home, I quickly began to feel stuck. While I certainly wish my environment offered me peace, quiet and wide open spaces, it unfortunately does not. I longed for my wide open spaces. The more traffic noise, general neighborhood noise, sirens, dogs barking, kids screaming, lawn mowers and blowers, etc. that I heard every time I tried to sit out in my yard and garden, the more I longed for peace, quiet, nature and wide open spaces. But we couldn't leave. Even when we finally could leave, many places {such as restrooms, which us older folks desperately need!} were still closed. I spent a lot of time inside thanks to the insane, obnoxious noises all around where I live, and during that time, I went through thousands of my photos. I created a ton of new digital backgrounds for my Daily Texture folks during this time. And I also noticed when reviewing my millions of photos, I have thousands of scenic photos I've taken, all featuring big skies and wide open spaces. Finally, the world seemed to start getting back to normal and we were able to get out and away more. I was happy -- everything was going back to "normal". Until June 2022, the month of my emergency, life saving surgery ... and while I was in the hospital recovering, my husband was diagnosed with cancer. Talk about a double whammy! During my recovery {6 months or so} and his treatment time period, we were stuck at home again. And once again, I longed for the beauty and serenity of wide open spaces and vast, beautiful skies. Back to my end of year 2023 challenge...when it came to selecting my favorite one medium to paint with, my next question was WHAT to paint. I know from creating wildlife, floral and still life art with pastel and colored pencil for many years in the past, that kind of work is very detailed and time consuming, and I find myself getting wrapped up in details to make sure everything is accurate. I didn't want to do that again. I wanted to be FREE...to FEEL free at least...with whatever I chose. Because I have so many reference photos of skies and wide open spaces from my travels, and because it's the one thing I've longed most for in the past several years, I decided to give those a try with my soft pastels. And that, my friends, is how and why the Big Skies series of paintings began. I love creating each and every one! The skies basically paint themselves! I struggle with the ground level areas some, often finding myself becoming too rigid trying to make it look just perfect. It's then I step away from my easel, take a break, loosen up and come back and finish the painting as fast and loosely as I possibly can. I'm currently creating a lot of 8x8" {matted to 12x12"} and 8x10" scenes {matted to 11x14"} because these sizes are easiest to ship. I have recently purchased some antique/vintage frames I'll also be creating big sky scenes to go into. At some point, I may find a gallery to display in, but Jackson, TN is not known for it's arts and only has one little gallery I know of. So my paintings are currently offered online only {via my store at DailyTexture.com} at this point. Most are selling as fast as, or before, I get them online. Which is a good problem to have, but I promise, there will be more available as time goes on! I know this was a very long answer to "Why Big Skies", but it is what it is. :) Thanks for being here and for reading! Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter to be notified about new paintings each month! --Jai
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Jai JohnsonFocusing on the big sky is more than a creative decision; it's a personal escape—a visual retreat allowing me to transcend the boundaries of my surroundings. Archives |
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