THE WORLD IS YOUR CANVAS artist calina johnson paints small texas towns back to life
BY EMMA BURLEIGH
1. Urban Bull, Acrylic mixed media, 36" x 48"
154 DSD
1
As philosopher Henry David Thoreau once said, “This world is but a canvas to our imagination.” Muralists like Calina Mishay Johnson have chosen to take this quote quite literally. The growth of social media and art appreciation within society have led to a new craze for art murals, which can be found on buildings all across the country. People will travel long and far to snap a few shots in front of one of these artistic destina- tions, and as a result, businesses are beginning to use them as powerful advertising tools to draw more customers to their locations. Johnson, a Texas-born and raised muralist, is one of the many artists who have expanded their canvases to include vast walls and buildings, though she still draws inspiration from human emotion and stories. Both in her smaller, more personal canvas commissions and her larger murals, Johnson makes it her top priority to utilize her paintings to relay messages to her audience. “I want to be known as the people’s artist,” Johnson explains. “I want to relate to the people and deliver their messages for them.”
