Welcome to Beyond the Blueprints, where we get to know RTA staff beyond their work lives. Join us in discovering the passions and interests of our amazing team!

In our newest Beyond the Blueprints feature, meet Associate and Interior Designer Greg Johnson! Since joining RTA in 2008, Greg has worked on many project types, including schools, retail, and medical facilities. To each project he works on, Greg brings strong graphic design skills and creative ideas.

Outside of his work at RTA, Greg is a professional artist whose work has been displayed at several local galleries.

How long have you been painting?

I’ve been painting since high school and have pursued it professionally since graduating college in 1993. My work spans murals, signage, and graphic design. Since 2013, I have also had intermittent representation in fine art galleries in Colorado Springs.

Why did you start painting?

My original career path was to become a high school art teacher, after being inspired by my high school art teacher. I began painting because I felt strongly that I needed to understand and practice as many mediums as possible to pass on the knowledge for students to be successful.  My high school art teacher, who was a professional artist on the side, showed me the consistency and quality that is required to be represented in a gallery.

How would you describe your style?

My style is self-developed from multiple learned and observed processes and mediums.  My representational compositions offer two experiences.

Up close my paintings are very textural and impressionistic.

But from a distance, my work takes on more detail and form. 

My primary influence is actually airbrush illustration, just on a different scale and created using acrylic paint on a canvas / board. 

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Nature, Architecture, People, Jackson Pollock, Color Theory, various pigment application processes.

Can you describe your process?

My process has come about through experimentation.  Acrylic paint is poured onto my horizontal canvas out of a cat food can with holes drilled into the bottom.  The paint is poured through a series of templates and is allowed to drip freely onto the canvas below.  The templates are typically fabricated from hand cut or CNC’d cardboard.

Do you have a favorite piece that you’ve done? And why is it your favorite?

I have many favorite pieces.  I learn something and grow from every single piece. 

One that stands out from the others is a painting of Oysters that I was commissioned to paint a few years ago.  The natural texture of the paint mimics the form and texture of oysters.  The composition was very challenging for me, but once the couple who had commissioned the painting introduced me to the actual delicacy, a wave of understanding presented itself. 

The color combination, composition, size, personal connection to this couple, and the significance that the subject matter played in the lives of my clients made this one of my favorite pieces.

Do you have any tips or resources for anyone interested in painting?

Paint for yourself.  The process of applying pigment to a surface is a magical process and needs to be explored and understood internally on a personal level.  Embrace failure and learn from it.  Seak to “master” your medium of choice.  What I mean by “master” is understand what you can do with the medium, find the limits and be able to make it an extension of your vision.  Also, allow the medium to have its own voice.  One must work with the medium and not force it to be something that it is not.  Commit yourself to doing and making painting a part of your life, and allow your technique to evolve.

Future artistic direction.

After working in the architecture profession for the last 23 years, I have been inspired by the process of architectural modeling.  I am now exploring the crossover between architecture, art, and sculpture with metal fabrication and assembly.

These sculptures explore what the combination of landscape context, cityscape, architecture, color, texture, light, shadow, and composition can reveal to an observer.

Visit his website to see more of Greg's work: www.gsjwork.com