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"I Am An Artist" - An Article
on the Painter Michael Jurogue Johnson
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Notecards
And Paintings for sale |
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Michael
Jurogue Johnson is a gifted contemporary naïve artist who was born with
Down Syndrome. Michael paints watercolors, acrylics and oil paintings. He shares
an art studio and he paints almost every day. After dinner Michael can often
be found working at his mail order business: filling orders, writing letters,
and packing his notecards, paintings, and catalogs to be shipped to his customers
the next day. |
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In The Woods
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Painting
is Michael’s passion. On days when he cannot paint, Michael generally feels
cranky and out of sorts. Michael works hard. He is so proud and happy when he
sees his paintings framed and hanging on the wall. Sharing his gifts with others,
one to one, or at gallery receptions and conferences has helped Michael to develop
self-esteem. Michael works very slowly and carefully. Sometimes Michael paints
flowers from still lifes and adds animals. Other
times Michael paints things he has seen on his daily walks around his community
and near the shores of Lake Michigan. |
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Some of the dogs and cats are ones he knows, that live in his neighborhood or
belong to friends.Others come from Michael’s imagination, from pictures
in his books, or from photographs that Michael’s fans and customers send
to him. As a child, Michael enjoyed drawing pictures with markers and coloring
with crayons. He played with scraps of colored glass on a light table in a stained
glass studio. He has always been fascinated with color. At Park School in Evanston,
Illinois, a public school for children with special needs, Michael enjoyed art
classes and was able to take part in painting a community mural and to display
his school art projects at an outdoor art fair and an art exhibit in a local
bank. |
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Contact
us at: |
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kotlin@ameritech.net |
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Lilies1 (oil on canvas)
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Garden Party 8 (aqua oil)
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Michael
was supposed to go into a sheltered workshop. The day after his graduation from
Park School ( at the age of 21 ) Michael was given a scrap of watercolor paper
and some paints just to keep him busy. Michael painted all day long and had
to be coaxed to stop and eat lunch. Michael’s first watercolor was awesome!!
When asked in utter amazement, "Michael, this is really good. Would you
like to be an artist?" Michael replied, "I AM AN ARTIST." Michael
exceeded everyone’s expectations when he was given the |
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opportunity to paint independently, at his own pace, in his own studio space.
He learned how to paint by painting every day. After finishing twenty-four color
field paintings in watercolor and acrylics, Michael announced, "I want
to paint cats." |
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The
transition from abstract art to figurative art required a shift in Michael’s
thinking and perception. It was very difficult. It took Michael more than a
year of painting long hours each day to learn how to control the paint flow,
to learn how to manipulate his brushes and other tools and to learn how to fill
the space. Sometimes Michael divided his paper into sections so that he could
paint a small area at a time. (Some of these paintings have cats on patchwork
quilts and Michael would paint one patch each day.) At the end of 1994, Michael
had walls of beautiful cat paintings and a cat calendar to mark his achievements.
And Michael finally |
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Leaf Bed (watercolor)
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mastered
the techniques and found the confidence to begin to paint the images that he
so wanted to create. In 1995 Michael started drawing cats and dogs together.
Michael says "In my paintings dogs and cats are friends." Now Michael
enjoys painting in oils and acrylics on large wood panels and canvases with
free and loose brushstrokes, and some of his paintings have become more like
Impressionism. Michael’s sense of self has been developing as his style
of painting has been evolving. Michael’s art gives him a lot of personal
satisfaction and recognition within his community. People now accept Michael
as a talented artist and as an exceptional human being. |
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Moonsong 8 (acrylics on contour canvas)
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- Michael’s Catalog has color pictures of 100 or more paintings
that are for sale ( the prices start at
$30 ), color pictures of Michael’s notecards, and a handpainted coupon
good for a 10% discount. The Catalog also has color pictures of Michael
and information about Michael and his art. Michael’s Catalog is $50.
- Color brochures showing Michael’s Paintings under $100, and Notecards
are available for $7.
- Handpainted gift certificates, each an original piece of Michael’s
art and suitable for framing, can be ordered from the artist.
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Please make your checks payable to Michael Johnson and
send them to 823 Elmwood Ave #2, Evanston IL 60202-4353. Orders generally
take 2- 4 weeks. Michael loves to get mail, and he does answer his letters.
He has a photo album that he is filling with pictures of customers, their
children, and pets. Michael is planning to have additional notecards printed
commercially ( like his "PEACE" notecard ) and will let you know
when they are ready. Please send Michael a postcard if you want to be on Michael’s
mailing list. Some of Michaels's acrylics and oil paintings are on display
and for sale at The Adult Down Syndrome Center of Lutheran General Hospital,
1999 Dempster Street in Park Ridge, Illinois. Contact Ann Jonaitis at 847-318-2331.
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