Get to Know: Victoria Johnson
This October 5-10 get ready for an immersive, creative experience featuring six hands-on workshop sessions. During our Fall Florals Expressive Flower Painting art retreat with Victoria Johnson, you’ll learn to draw from the local aesthetic and combine its rich visual bounty with your own taste and style.
Fall Florals | October 5-10
Victoria will show you how to stay curious and open to new experiences while remaining true to yourself. Take a peek inside her creative mind:
What is your favorite art supply? My A. Gallo watercolour paints. They’re handmade with honey and rosemary oil. The company is based in Assisi which is a medieval town in Umbria, not too far from Rome where I live. The colours are beautiful, intense and long lasting. I selected the individual colours for my palette of 24 and they’re perfect.
What do you love about teaching? I absolutely love getting to know the guests! They come from all over the world. Sometimes there are as many as five languages being spoken simultaneously in the studio at my retreats. They come to the workshops, retreats and my online courses from such diverse backgrounds and are always engaged and open to new ideas. It’s really exciting to see someone have a revelatory moment and discover they can do something new. I love seeing their confidence build. I’ve made so many friends over the years. We often stay in touch. I love following them on Instagram.
What is the strangest thing that has ever inspired your art? Dateline true crime podcasts - while I paint flowers.
Is there a myth about being an artist that you'd like to bust? Yes. That you have to follow a discipline or set of rules, learning what goes where and in what order. The opposite is true for me. I love experimenting and being led by my curiosity. I work with layers of different (often unpredictable) media and frequently end up with something unintentional that at first seems alarming—then becomes really exciting!
Describe your ideal studio space. Mine. But much bigger!
What's the weirdest thing you've made? It’s not art. But it’s weird. A pea pie. There was no food in the house - just frozen peas and a bag of flour. It was quite good.
What's your favorite snack or drink to fuel your creativity? Oh—just anything that’s in the fridge. I graze all day. I have to stop. And Nescafé. I know. I live in Italy and I don’t drink proper coffee. I’m a disgrace.
What job would you be terrible at? Anything medical. I’m beyond squeamish.
What animal best represents your personality? A cat. Mixed with a dog. Shrewd and happy in my own company plus playful and game for a laugh at any time.
Vermont is absolutely breathtaking in the fall. You'll find peace, ease, boundless creativity, and creative connection here at The Smiley Manse.
We hope you'll join Victoria for her fantastic Fall Florals retreat or one of our other delightful teaching artists this season. We can't wait to see you here 💛