View paintings by Michael Johnston in the library’s Meeting Room beginning September 4.
“Life is empty without creativity,” says Michael Johnston, painter and 20-year resident of Ridgewood, NJ.
Michael discovered the importance of art at an early age, exploring a range of pottery, photography, and drawing/painting classes during his elementary and middle school years. The pursuit of creativity would become a lifelong passion in both his professional and personal life. Michael would spend 25 years as a creative in the advertising industry, the majority of the time working within the agency networks of McCann-Erickson and Ogilvy. During his tenure, he helped to create, refine, and launch the creative identities of multiple brands, from everyday consumer products to innovative therapies across the anti-infective, oncology, and anti-depressant categories. Now retired, Michael has fully returned to his artistic beginnings. His key influences include Van Gogh, Dali, and Basquiat.
Select photos of works by Michael
Indigo and Go: Acrylic and modeling paste on canvas, applied with palette knife, 24” x 36”. Color is placed in dynamic motion to communicate a vibrant energy that expands across the canvas. A force of nature that fights against being contained. 
Winter Forest: Acrylic on canvas, 24” x 36”. The blue ice of ancient glaciers is the inspiration for the color spectrum, which forms a reimagined frozen landscape of trees and snow. Even in the coldest times, there is beauty. 
So Much Fun: Acrylic on canvas, 24” x 36”. A celebration of the similarities and differences that occur simultaneously within our existence. They’re abundant and beautiful and should make you smile. 
Katie and Olivia: Acrylic on canvas, 24” x 36”. Inspired by my daughters, who are equal in my eyes and will face life’s tempest side by side, undaunted. A display of sibling unity and strength, which will carry on long after their parents are gone. 
Tinker at Her Post: Acrylic on canvas, 18” x 24”. Our beloved chihuahua is central in representing what we all feel or desire at some point in our journey: a longing for the outside world and its adventures, the comfort of a safe home, and the steady vigilance to guard what is most important to us. 
Eclipse: Acrylic on canvas, 36’’ x 48”. Darkness descends with shards of gold and silver, streaked with crimson, representing the oppressive and destructive nature of money and greed, which increasingly infiltrates and obscures any calm and peaceful state of mind.