Artist Profile: Dezi Johnson

For 18-year-old self-taught artist Dezi Johnson, creating art is about more than capturing what someone or something looks like. It's about capturing a feeling.

Dezi has developed a particular love for drawing and painting people, using portraiture as a way to explore personality, relationships and emotion. Her work ranges from carefully rendered pencil portraits to paintings and imaginative pieces, but throughout her portfolio there is a noticeable interest in the emotion behind the subject.

That connection is one of Dezi's favorite parts of being an artist.

She enjoys expressing both her own feelings and the feelings of others through her work — and especially loves seeing someone's reaction when she has created something specifically for them. Whether it's the closeness between two people, a quiet moment captured in a portrait or an emotional interpretation, her artwork often invites the viewer to look beyond the surface.

People aren't her only inspiration. Dezi also enjoys drawing and painting nature and has a strong love for animals, giving her plenty of subjects to continue exploring as her art develops.

And while art is an important part of her life, creativity carries into many of Dezi's other interests. When she isn't drawing or painting, you might find her golfing, reading or baking.

At just 18, Dezi is still at the beginning of her artistic journey, making Fall for the Arts an opportunity for our community to discover a young artist as she continues developing her own voice, style and body of work.

Meet Dezi at Fall for the Arts

You'll find Dezi's artwork on display at Valencia during Fall for the Arts on Saturday, September 19.

🎨 Dezi Johnson
📍 Valencia, 2417 13 St.
📅 Saturday, September 19
🕚 Artwork on display beginning at 11 a.m.

Stop in, take a closer look at Dezi's work and help us celebrate one of the emerging artists participating in this year's Fall for the Arts.