Arvid Johnson is a representational painter working primarily in watercolor, although he also paints in oil, gouache, acrylic, and occasionally pencil. He has been an active part time artist time for over 40 years. Primarily self taught, he has also taken work shops and classes over the years to advance his artistic development.
In his senior year of high school in Chicago, he won a scholarship to the Art Institute of Chicago. Instead he went on to undergraduate and law school at Northwestern University at the urging of his father, who wisely advised, “Get your education first and you can think about art later.” Friends remember class notes interspersed with sketches and drawings. The more boring the lecture, the more sketches which may explain his weakness in remembering the Rule in Shelly’s case.
The law is a jealous mistress and makes for a demanding career. First as a trial attorney and then as a corporate general counsel and senior executive at several major corporations, he was challenged to raise a family, not mention cope with increased domestic and international business travel. So he had to work hard to be a Sunday painter. Yet over the years he entered many shows in the Chicago area, with ribbons and awards and is represented in private collections coast to coast. Now retired and living in the Roaring Fork Valley after as career as a corporate and international lawyer, he looks forward to more active role as an artist.