Illustrator, designer, and artist Victoria Johnson admits she’s always imagined herself doing something artistic for a living. Over the years, she has worked as a scenery painter, a window dresser, and a portrait artist amongst other creative jobs. “It sounds pretentious but it really always was a part of who I am and how I identified myself – the person who can draw/is artistic,” she reflected in an interview with Lake. “My mom is very creative. She definitely encouraged me by providing limitless art supplies.”
Nowadays, with little over 50k followers on Instagram and clients that include Anthropologie, Hallmark, and the Land of Nod, her work is featured on a huge variety of products: from women’s and children’s wear to paper products, home furnishings, and giftware.
When it comes to her creative process, Johnson admits she relies on a heavy dose of intuition and spontaneity. “I like to explore a lot, try new materials, play with layers and texture, then let the outcome determine the finished piece,” she relayed. “I also like spontaneity. I’m not much of a planner.”
She adds that she never draws an outline or sketch beforehand – a remarkable statement if you take into account the amount of work she’s produced. “If something is going pear-shaped I like to push through and make it work and I think that by doing that I get interesting and unexpected results,” she notes. “But I’m also very organized and logical. I enjoy creating groups of related pieces – collections. Cohesiveness, harmonious color, a common thread that links all my work – these are all important to me.”
With creativity clearly running through her veins, Johnson says she doesn’t deal with artist block. “There are always too many ideas and not enough time,” she says. You’d want to follow her on Instagram.