Johnny K | A Magical Afternoon, Blackheath
Location shot. This artwork was painted plein air
A Magical Afternoon, Blackheath | 2025
60 x 120 cm
Oil, aerosol & house paint on board
Signed Verso
Tasi Oak shadow box frame
$3,850
HOME
This body of work focuses on local landscapes that I'm fortunate to experience daily, places that I call home.
My journey and love for landscape painting started back in 2017 when I first moved to the Blue Mountains. Working full time back then I'd spend most of my weekends out exploring dirt roads and painting places beyond the Blue Mountains such as Hartley Vale, Tarana, Kanimbla and the surrounds of Bathurst. This is when my passion for plein air painting was ignited.
Come 2025 and many dirt road adventures later, my obsession for plein air painting and love for the Blue Mountains has only grown stronger. The vivid and atmospheric colours, brooding skies, ferocious winds and ever changing weather conditions, make painting the Blue Mountains landscape en plein air an invigorating and soul fulfilling experience.
Working outside in the elements requires me to make quick decisions and fast energetic mark making, the paintings capture a fleeting moment of time in the landscape. This body of work invites the viewer to be enveloped by the sensory experience of my Plein air adventures.
Johnny K Aug 25
Johnny K
BIO
I was always very good at drawing from a very young age and remember early on that I wanted to be an artist, although I never really understood what that really meant. Being born in Albury I’ve always been drawn to the Australian landscape and the outdoors in general. I recall riding up the hill behind our house and being able to see an endless horizon line and I remember how the light glistened across the land like sparkles of magic. It had me in complete awe and from an early age I enjoyed experiencing each season in all its glory.
Entering the National Art School straight out of high school for three years was definitely an eye opener for me and my practical training was completed with an intensive 6 months at the Julian Ashton Art School during my mid- twenties, where I really learnt about colour and composition. The two very differing schools and their approach to painting honed my abilities to handle paint, composition and colour.
I currently spend most of my time exploring dirt roads in rural NSW, where painting from life has played a critical role in shaping my current style and approach to painting. I have recently started reworking paintings in my studio that were painted en plein air to help give me more time to think about the work and inject the experience into the paintings. Using thick brush marks and layers of paint enables me to capture the tough Australian terrain. I want viewers to be able to see and feel the terrain on the surface of my paintings and through my work take them on my adventures and journey into the Australian landscape.
