Artist of the day: Artist of the Day, May 20, 2022: Johanna Hildebrandt, an Australian emerging artist (#1574)

Australian artist Johanna Hildebrandt (1950) was primarily influenced by the 1960s growing up.

I was born in Grainau, a small Bavarian town in Germany. After spending three years at art school specialising in sculpture, I migrated to Australia in 1970 with my husband and young child. During my first years there, I discovered the seductive beauty of my newly adopted country.

I was surrounded by vivid colours of exotic birds and parrots, and an abundance of wildlife. In 1980, I picked up my paintbrushes because I was eager to communicate my impressions of these luscious landscapes and it’s inhabitants. I started painting unselfconsciously, responding honestly to the world around me. For me, creating art is a natural and intimate process which corresponds with the Naive Art movement.

My paintings start in different ways; it might be a colour scheme, a particularly beautiful sunset, or perhaps the observation of birdlife in the treetops. Often the paintings are backlit and the foreground images are layered and silhouetted against a luminous twilight.

I use quick-drying acrylic paint, which allows me to work without interrupting the flow of inspiration and creation. Although my technical skills improve over time, my focus remains true to my original response to this captivating world. That keeps my work fresh and spontaneous.

As long as I can remember, I loved roaming the countryside. To this day I still do a lot of walking in the wilderness and always come away feeling refreshed and full of inspiration. The natural environment, particularly when it is wild and untouched, still has a profound impact on me. Furthermore, my reef and underwater scenes are inspired by my passion for snorkeling in the clear waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The aim of my artwork is to convey happiness and pleasure; a respite from daily stress and anxiety. The accuracy and scale of the elements are not important to me, as my focus is on the emotional responses they create in the viewer. I am a great admirer of artists such as Henry Rousseau and Paul Gauguin. This influence can be seen in the colour, flora and fauna that inhabit my work.

have had more than 20 Solo Exhibitions in Australia, Japan and Germany and have taken part in many important group shows internationally.

Selected images have been reproduced on greeting cards, prints, posters, book covers and jigsaw puzzles. I am especially proud of the fact that one of my images was chosen by UNICEF for their promotional greeting cards.

I look forward to licensing my work for reproductions so that I am further able to share the beauty and happiness offered by the natural world.

© 2022. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Johanna Hildebrandt or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only