Johnson's art career first bloomed when his mother handed him pencil and paper to keep him quiet in church. Growing up in Huntsville was all about being outdoors, so drawing took second place to exploring nature. But the underlying passion to express himself in art kept a steady glow, and by high school, Steve was selling his paintings. Marriage and family supplied him with more images, and Johnson often used his kids, family pets and neighbors as models. He also worked as a professional horse trainer and fireman until an accident sidelined him for a few months. It was his chance to pick up a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Weber State University and better learn illustration. Ultimately, however, Johnson pursued art as he'd pursued the outdoors - with a sense of wonder and adventure. He threw away the mold and just did what he did, one painting or drawing at a time.
Johnson's art runs the gamut, from graphite and colored pencil, to watercolors and oils. He's done commission work |
for the World Cup downhill ski races and the World Cup disabled ski races, and has also gained recognition from range and ranching societies who use his universal themes to focus on the disappearing Old West. Two inspirational coffee-table quality books, No Bad Apples and From the Back of a Horse, combine country scenes with original verse.
Steve Johnson still views life from the back of a horse, and paints in a converted chicken coop behind his 90-year-old house. His studio, however, carries no fowl smell, but rather the trappings of an authentic artist who needs to work amidst the action of the Old West he knows and values. Beyond his studio, he sees a new Utah emerging, complete with ski slopes, art galleries and new people. In Johnson's mind, however, the growth is one more opportunity for him to share his lifestyle with a world hungry for some of those simple country moments.
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