I’m Ella Johnston, an artist, erstwhile editor and creative content consultant.
ARTISTIC PRACTICE
I have been an exhibiting artist for more than 20 years. My practice is an ongoing exploration of mark-making processes and the meaning, or non-meaning, ascribed to them.
In recent years my work has shifted from a fascination with nature to concepts of spontaneity, memory, colour and shape.
Inspired by abstract expressionism, modernist and minimalist art of the 20th Century, my current ink pieces, lino cuts and asemic poetry explore our encounters with writing, music and the built environment.
I approach each work as a palimpsest as I paint, draw, scrape and wash layers of inks, colour, and metallic elements over my paper or canvas, creating multilayered assemblages of line, palette and form.
ADDITIONAL PROJECTS
I am also co-founder, creative director and designer for Wivenhoe-based publisher Dunlin Press and art and creative consultant for Mitsubishi Pencil Company.
I am an occasional illustrator for St Martin’s Press, New York, and am regularly commissioned as a feature and cover artist for a variety of print magazines and journals. I trained in art at Chelsea College of Art and in history of art at the University of Essex.
CONTACT ME
Get in touch with Ella via the form below…