Interview with artist and illustrator Lettecha Johnson
Today our guest is Lettecha Johnson. She is a New York based artist/ illustrator with recent experience in the tech world. She received her BFA in Illustration from Syracuse University and her MA in Instructional Technology & Media from Teachers College, Columbia University. We have conducted an interview with her.
When was the first time that you figured that your creative works of art were mostly inspired by your travels?
There was no one moment when I figured this out. I have always taken photos of my travels but it was during my 2015 trips that I got more focused and wanted to tell a visual story . The real euphony came in Italy and Egypt in 2016. While I took an insane amount of photos that could stand on their own, I knew I needed to get back to my old school way of creating something. I needed to get back to painting and drawing or whatever came to me. I needed to express not only what I was seeing in front of me but what I was feeling while letting happy creative accidents happen in progress.
How did Egypt inspire you? Which were the kind of paintings you created?
Egypt marked my first trip to Africa. I was standing in and near artifacts that are thousands of years old. The Temple of Ramses at Abu Simbel still bears the paint and hieroglyphics that bear the story of that amazing Pharaoh. I was surrounded by colors and felt things that were hard to put into words. Where words fail, my art can speak and vibrate. I have begun a series of colorful paintings and collages with lots of texture. It has been fun incorporating various mixed media elements into many of my paintings.
What are the next five new places you want to travel to?
There are so many places I want to go! I would have to say South Africa, Ghana, Cuba, Australia and Japan.
Is your background in illustration connected or useful to photography and writing works made by you?
Yes, my illustration/art background gives me an artistic eye pretty much in whatever I do. Color, composition and looking for something interesting to focus on are elements that pertain to both illustration and photography.
Where did you gain your work experiences in web production?
I really got into this during my graduate school years by interning at Nickelodeon and campus work. After graduation, I did web production at Sony and Guardian News & Media.
Why did you choose to re-emerge again using canvas and paper?
I just love the freedom of a blank canvas. I love building up the paint, building up the texture, cutting up paper for a collage…its almost like being a kid again !
