the artist


395464_10150597838655027_1199391070_n       Jarrah Johnson is a contemporary Australian Realist creating classic pieces reminiscent of the past. His fine art paintings reflect a sense of passion and a true interest in the beauty that surrounds him.

      Jarrah is interested in longevity. He is drawn to subjects that hold beauty that can withstand the test of time. He is constantly aware of inspiration that surrounds him, but Jarrah needs an instant connection with the subject to know it is worthy of being painted. It is almost as if the subject matter insists on being recreated. He describes the experience of creating artwork as ‘diving into and becoming completely immersed’.

Jarrah’s art is diverse. He is a painter, photographer and works in stone. He is not tied to one theme, but inspiration comes from a variety of sources. Jarrah allows the inspiration to wash over him, and immerses himself in that moment.

The variety of themes are often inspired by Jarrah’s personal travels. On his trips, Jarrah looks for moments that capture his interest. He is drawn to culture. He needs to live and breathe the experience to be able to capture it in an artwork.

Jarrah describes his travels as an opportunity to gather experiences, emotions and essence. Much of his painting will be created in the time of the experience, but he is also endlessly storing ideas. The works are often not created until the right moment, which may emerge years later.

As a child, Jarrah was inspired by natural beauty. His surrounds were the canvas. Jarrah has a natural attention to detail and sensitivity to surrounding beauty, which allowed him to focus on specific subjects. Like a photo, the experience or moment came to him at the time of creating the work.

Coming from a family of artisans, it was inevitable that Jarrah would be led into art. Creating art came naturally to Jarrah, who began drawing landscapes as soon as he could pick up a pencil. Even his early drawings were intended to capture the entire experience of a landscape, and not just a single subject.

In his early teens, Jarrah discovered paint. He was drawn to its texture and possibilities. He explored a number of themes in his early paintings, from rural landscapes to still life to portraiture.

He later explored photography. For Jarrah, the photo is a finished painting. Jarrah sees everything as a painting. Like the subjects for his paintings, Jarrah will only capture the moments that are truly meaningful.

Jarrah held his first painting exhibition even before leaving high school. He has gone on to exhibit in Byron Bay, Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Melbourne and Adelaide.  His work is held in private collections throughout the world.

Jarrah is self-taught, which has allowed him the freedom to explore a range of techniques, expressions and subject matter. Jarrah allows his paintings and artwork to speak for itself. His art is about beauty. He aims to share his creative experience in the hope of connecting the viewer with the innate beauty of the subject.