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'Welcome Mr Blue Sky' by Josephine Johnson
$3,800.00
Oils on canvas
120 x 180 cm
About the artwork
“What The Water Says is a joint exhibition between Nicole Steenhof and myself, to explore the properties of water and atmosphere through the luminous qualities of oil painting. Nicole’s daily observations of the ocean inform her work as do my daily observations of the sky and weather. Paraphrasing the Emerald Tablet, a Hermetic text from the 9th century, “That which is above is like to that which is below” and in this manner I explore the correspondence between the laws of atmospheric phenomena. I have a catalogue of over 5000 cloud photos in my phone, and I drew upon this imagery to create the concepts that resulted in the fourteen paintings in this collection. Cloud painting has a vast and rich heritage, and I was inspired by cloud masters of the far and recent past including Richter, Turner, Constable and the 10th Century Chinese cloud and mountain painters such as Li Cheng for whom clouds are symbolic of good fortune and blessings. The works take their titles from poetry and lyrics as a nod to writers who have also been inspired by the elusive properties of our ever-changing cloudscapes. There is so much solace to be found in the beauty of the world, and I find that pursuing beauty is becoming more central to my practice, like a willful act of hope in troubling times.
About the artist
Based in Walyalup/Fremantle, Western Australia, Josephine is an award-winning emerging artist whose interdisciplinary practice responds to the natural environment through gestural and abstracted landscapes.
She is drawn to themes that explore sublime aesthetic experiences found in nature—those moments of awe, fragility, and wonder that reveal our interconnectedness with the living world.
Josephine’s work is represented in private collections across Australia, Singapore, the United States and Scotland. An active and passionate member of the arts community, she serves as Chair of Regional Arts WA, advocating for the visibility and vitality of regional arts practice.
She achieved a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Fine Art Distinction) from Curtin University in 2025.