“Being a painter is a way of life, you live and breathe art.” This is how artist Gary R. Johnson approaches his art. Wildlife and landscape painter, Gary R. Johnson takes this philosophy to heart. He has traveled to many wild areas of the world, Africa to Belize to our nation’s most beautiful wilderness areas, in his quest for the unique and inspiring image. After earning a Masters of Arts degree in painting and drawing from California State University, Los Angeles, Gary made his living as a medical illustrator and honed his fine art skills. In 1993, he started painting wildlife and landscapes to express his uncompromising beliefs in wildlife and habitat conservation and management. Gary works primarily in oils and mixed media on handmade paper.

          Gary’s artwork has been juried into prestigious, Arts for the Parks Top 100 competition (1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2005), winning the Grand Prize Gold Medal Miniature Top 100 in 2005. This is the highest honor one can receive for representational art in this country. He has also been juried into “Art and the Animal” at the Bennington Center for the Arts in Vermont (2001, 2004, 2008) and the Pastel Society of America exhibition (1996). Gary has exhibited at a number of top wildlife and western art shows in the nation, including Nature Works, the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, the Easton Waterfowl festival, the C.M. Russell Art Show and Auction, and Safari Club International show. Gary’s artwork has been exhibited at the Museum of Western Art, the Gilcrease Museum and the San Diego Natural History Museum. His artwork has been featured in the Charlie M. Russell Museum Action and the Sotheby’s of London auction house. In 2005, Gary was selected as the Artist in Residence for the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Gary’s artwork has been featured in Western Art and Architecture magazine (Winter/Spring 2009), Western Art Collector magazine (Nov. 2008), Wildlife Art magazine (Nov/Dec 2006). He has also been spotlighted in Southwest Art, Sporting Classics, Art of the West, Arizona Highways and Safari Times magazines.