Bio

A Seattle native, Kelly Johnston earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting + Drawing with a minor in Art History from the University of Washington. In addition to painting, she has worked in the interior design industry and created a line of handmade jewelry. Kelly has exhibited her work in venues throughout the Pacific Northwest including the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Anthropologie, West Elm and the Bloedel Reserve. She has been featured in Create! Magazine, Luxe Interiors + Design Magazine, HGTV Magazine, and on Domino.com.  Her work can also be found in three collections of limited edition prints, available at Minted.com, the Sebastian Foster Gallery, and her signature collection available on her website and in her gallery.

Kelly lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington with her husband and two children. Most days she can be found working in her studio/gallery space in downtown Winslow - please stop by and say hello!

Artist Statement

My work is consistently inspired by the landscape, particularly in the poetic interplay of sunlight on the water’s surface as well as the abstract, ever-shifting qualities of clouds and sky. Working with water soluble oils or gouache, I use fluid brushstrokes and bold color to evoke sunlit spaces and to highlight the organic patterns I find in nature. My paintings are at once a celebration of the splendor of the natural world, and a reminder of the fleeting nature of our human experience. I hope my paintings provide the viewer a moment to pause, reflect, and marvel at the beauty that surrounds us.

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Education

2000    BFA; Painting + Drawing, Minor; Art History. University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2024 Featured Artist, Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty, Bainbridge Island, WA

2023 Featured Artist, Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty, Bainbridge Island, WA

2023 Featured Artist, Windermere Real Estate, Bainbridge Island, WA

2018 Featured Artist, Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty, Bainbridge Island, WA

2017    Featured Artist, Anthropologie, Seattle, WA

2017    Featured Artist, West Elm, Seattle, WA

2016    Water Marks, Anthropologie, Seattle, WA

2016    A Vivid Perspective, The Bloedel Reserve, Bainbridge Island, WA

2016    Wavelengths, Bainbridge Performing Arts Gallery, Bainbridge Island, WA

2016    Illuminated, Bainbridge Public Library, Bainbridge Island, WA

2016    New and Recent Paintings, Ghost Gallery for Rocco's, Seattle, WA

2015    Featured Artist, Lark, Bainbridge Island, WA

2015    Water Works, West Elm, Seattle, WA

2015    Rise : Setnew paintings, Anthropologie, Seattle, WA

2014    Above & BelowPaintings by Kelly Johnston, VELOURIA, Seattle, WA

2014    Kelly Johnston: Six Paintings, Mainframe Gallery for Pies & Pints, Seattle, WA

2014    Featured Artist, CAPERS, Seattle, WA

2001    Featured Artist, Trine Studios, Seattle, WA

Selected Group Exhibitions

2022 10x10x10xTieton, Mighty Tieton Warehouse, Tieton, WA

2021 BIMA Bash!, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Bainbridge Island, WA

2020 Washington State Juried Art Competition, Collective Visions Gallery, Bremerton, WA

2019 Northwest Fine Arts Competition, Phinney Center Gallery, Seattle, WA

2019 BIMA Bash!, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Bainbridge Island, WA

2018    Paint Out Winslow, Bainbridge Island, WA

2018    Art is happening, Bainbridge Public Library, Bainbridge Island, WA

2018    BIMA Bash!, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Bainbridge Island, WA

2017    10x10x10xTieton, Mighty Tieton Warehouse, Tieton, WA

2017    Unity at the Bemis, Bemis Building, Seattle, WA

2017    Arts In The Park, Arts & Humanities Bainbridge, Bainbridge Island, WA

2017    Northwest Fine Arts Competition, Phinney Center Gallery, Seattle, WA

2016    Kitsap Arts & Crafts Juried Fine Arts Show, Kingston, WA

2016    Seattle Showhouse, Hosted by ATG Stores, Decorist and Porch, Seattle, WA

2015    10x10x10xTieton, Mighty Tieton Warehouse, Tieton, WA

2015    By Land or By Sea: Ed Bopp, Kelly Johnston, Mainframe Gallery, Seattle, WA

2014    The Gang's All Here, 2nd Annual Group Show, Mainframe Gallery, Seattle, WA

2014    Northwest Lights: Paintings by Kelly Johnston and Edna Crews, Mainframe Gallery, Seattle, WA

2014    SUN TILT Group Show, Ghost Gallery for Stylus Salon, Seattle, WA

Awards

2021 Editors’ Award, Minted Art at Scale: Large Format Art Challenge, Minted.com

2020 Editors’ Award, Minted Spotlight on Art Quickfire Fine Art Challenge, Minted.com

2019 Jurors’ Choice, Northwest Fine Arts Competition, Phinney Center Gallery, Seattle, WA

2019 Editors’ Award, Minted Dream Big Wall Mural Challenge, Minted.com

2019 Editors’ Award, Minted x Pottery Barn Kids x PBTeen Walls That Wow Art Challenge, Minted.com

2018 2 Editors’ Awards, Minted Make a Statement Large Format Art Challenge, Minted.com

2017    Editors' Award, Minted x West Elm Art Challenge, Minted.com

2017 2 Editors’ Awards, Young at Art Minted x Pottery Barn Kids Art Challenge, Minted.com

2016    Editors' Award & 'Behind the Piece' Prize, Spaces & Places Art Challenge, Minted.com

2015    Editors' Award, Minted x Domino Round 2 Art Challenge, Minted.com

2015    2 Editors' Awards, For Art's Sake Challenge, Minted.com

2015    2 Editors' Awards, Minted x West Elm 3rd Art Challenge, Minted.com

2015    Top 30 Award, Work of Art Challenge, Minted.com

2014    Editors' Award, Minted x Domino Art Challenge, Minted.com

2014    Top 20 Award, Minted + West Elm Art Challenge, Minted.com

Press

2017    Create! Magazine, Issue VI

2016    HGTV Magazine, Designing a Modern-Meets-Traditional Kitchen, January Issue

2015    Domino.com, At Home with a Minted Artist

2015    Luxe Interiors + Design Magazine, Pacific Northwest Winter Issue

2014    Fresh Paint Magazine, Vol. 4

Collections

Swedish Medical Center Foundation

Suncadia Resort