Paint Annapolis is on the way! Learn more about the juried artists and get yourself ready for this historic Plein air painting festival.
We’re excited to welcome Greg Johannesen from Port Republic, Maryland as a juried artist for Paint Annapolis 2024!
Born in Portsmouth, VA, in 1966 and growing up amidst the visual richness of Virginia Beach, Greg Johannesen’s artistic journey began early. His creative talent flourished with an art award at the tender age of six, igniting his passion for art. His childhood was spent immersed in nature, surfing, sketching animals, and capturing the picturesque beach scenes that surrounded him.
Under the guidance of renowned artist Suzanne Stevens, Greg got his first professional art lessons, where he was introduced to plein-air painting. This appreciation for outdoor painting has greatly influenced his creative journey.
His unyielding artistic drive led him to an AAS in Advertising Design and a minor in Drawing from Tidewater Community College before advancing to Virginia Commonwealth University for a BFA in Illustration. Greg holds a deep passion for creative arts, which is clearly reflected in his three-decade-long career in communications where he has designed and illustrated for a myriad of print and digital media.
Today, Greg resides in Southern Maryland alongside his beloved wife, a retired master art teacher, and their two children. In 2006, he unveiled his own studio, contributing to the art landscape as a full-time illustrator, graphic designer, and painter.
His love of nature, reignited in his fine art as he celebrates the Chesapeake Bay region with hues of pastels and oils, allows him to capture the heart and soul from Annapolis to Solomons Island to Gloucester Point. Boats, waterways, and grand bay vistas offer him a canvas of endless inspiration. Pastels are Greg’s preferred artistic medium. This choice allows him to craft lively and emotive creations characterized by rich, vivid colors and spontaneous strokes. When he isn’t utilizing pastels, Greg turns to oils, employing a palette knife to produce artworks with a loose, fragmented color style.
Greg is a signature member of the Maryland Pastel Society, a juried artist member with the Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association, and an associate with the Pastel Society of America. His work has been highlighted in these esteemed publications: 100 Plein Air Painters of the Mid Atlantic by Gary Pendleton, Plein Air Magazine – June-July 2014 issue, Southern Maryland This is Living Magazine, Vol 17, No 2, and River Art Collection – Susquehanna International Art. The Academy of Art Museum has also included his work in their permanent collection.
Learn more about David on his website here!
Maryland Federation of Art Blog 