Madeline Johnson
Hello! I’m a high school student and aspiring artist, working toward a future where art is not just my passion, but my career.
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Right now, I’m focused on exploring different styles and techniques to expand my visual language. As a student, this is the perfect time to experiment, learn, and to push myself creatively.
Thank you for spending time both learning about me, and experiencing my art. I’m excited to keep growing, and grateful to share this part of the journey with you!
2026 Gold Collection
After experimenting with different styles of portraiture in my previous collections, I noticed my inclination towards loose brushwork. I enjoyed when it was readily apparent that my work was in fact painted by hand. Yet despite my love for the final outcome, this style was very difficult for me.
I still do have a tendency to continue blending and rendering my paintings beyond what I had initially intended, but my new style in this collection required me to avoid that as much as possible. I started using larger brushes, a more complex palette, and even blocky underpaintings.
A side effect of learning this loose painting style was my new ability to more deeply immerse myself in my work. I forced myself to let go of perfection, and instead take my time with each imperfect brushstroke. Painting became even more of a meditative practice for me, and helped inspire how I would surround my figures for this collection.
I wanted to capture the idea of allowing oneself to slow down amidst a society so obsessed with material success. I surrounded my non-photorealistic figures with abstract gold patterns and pages from art technique textbooks, sometimes blending them with black and bronze to simulate burns.
In its entirety, my work represents how the idea of success is so convoluted, and how we as humans should not base our worth off of how “perfect” or wealthy we are. This problem still troubles me every day, and I find that my art is one of the only ways I can find temporary relief from the self-imposed pressure. I truly hope that viewers of my work are able to catch a break in the same way I do when experiencing the art.
2026 3D Collection
This collection demonstrates how I have developed a style of art defined as portraiture surrounded by 3D elements. My portraiture focuses on exploring lighting techniques, color, and brushwork, and my 3D elements are where I branch out to find ways of uniquely enhancing each painting.
This style allows me to convey complex emotions better than I would be able to do with just the portrait itself. The 3D surroundings (which are often materials gathered from friends’ and family’s garages or the thrift store) help me add context to the expression my subject wears, while also creating a recognizable art style for myself.
The emotions I choose to paint vary, but all stem from ideas that can be difficult for myself and others to tackle through words alone. Some common themes I explore include relationship struggles, obsession with success, and womanhood. Accordingly, the subjects of my work are women, as I believe my message is more relatable to both myself and my main audience that way.
In total, my intention with my art is to make people feel seen. I still struggle to confront the emotions I depict in my work, but by using art as an outlet, I am able to learn from those feelings and even begin to express them. I hope that people experiencing the same difficult emotions, but who lack such an outlet, are able to find comfort within my work.
2025 Acrylic Collection
This was my first complete collection. With it, I capture how love and infatuation can blind the beholder from a subject's flaws—all that is not perfect fades away from view. I found myself exploring color, brushwork, lighting, and negative space like I hadn't before. I hope you enjoy these works as much as I do!
