I was born in Tacoma, Washington. I’m from a big family. I left home 3 days after high school and moved to Venice Beach, CA, where I had my first studio. After that I moved to a loft in Soho, NYC. Since then, I’ve lived in many beautiful places, mostly on or near water. My current studio is in Pioneer Square, Seattle.

Nature and the sea are big influences for my art – especially ocean storms, and the movement of the wind and waves.

I’m also influenced by the black-and-white films I watched as a kid. In my “Stars” series I try to capture the spirit of those Old Hollywood icons.

In the two series I’ve been working on recently – “Boxers” and “Cowboys” – I’m exploring the emotional spaces between cause and effect during heightened situations: A laughing Muhammad Ali dances back to avoid a wild punch, a rancher becomes an outlaw the second he fires his gun.

I want to portray the raw emotion behind these actions. In viewing these paintings I want you to feel the anger, fear, rage, and even thrill behind the punch or the trigger. I want you to feel the adrenaline that is pumping through every cell of the boxer’s or cowboy’s body. In these moments time slows down.

- Johnny