'Victorious Voices' with Stephanie Johnson
Through a deeply personal self-portrait - painted to celebrate a new year of life - Stephanie Johnson pushed beyond comfort zones, embracing faces, hands, and even colour, all while remaining true to their unique style. Winning the Fida Excellence in Drawing from Life Award 2024 has quieted the doubts, offering a powerful moment of belonging and the courage to share more.
Is being an artist your full-time profession, or more of a personal passion?
For me, being an artist is half passion, half professional. However, I would like to make it fully a profession. Occasionally, I have felt the need to define my work, if it’s art or design, as I never seem to fully fit into either. However, I am very much an amalgamation of the two, and each one influences the other.
Have you entered the awards before, and if so, how many times? If it’s your first time, what made you apply or influenced you to take the plunge?
I have only entered Fida once, for the 7th edition in 2023. I ended up being shortlisted and I was thrilled! The courage from that was a big part of why I entered this year.
How did you feel when you found out that you had won the award, and what do you hope to gain by winning?
I was honestly shocked to find out that I had won. I quite literally screamed with joy and danced around the kitchen! Going back on what I had said earlier about not quite fitting into categories - this was a wonderful moment and feeling of acceptance.
I hope to gain more of a community in this area, as I plan to go down the route of illustration further, I think this is a wonderful opportunity to do so.
What does this recognition mean to you as an artist?
It means a huge amount - most of all it gives me more confidence in my work, which is a wonderful fuel and incentive to keep going! In this field one can easily be overcome with second guessing and criticism, so it really means a lot that my work was selected.
Can you share what inspired the winning piece and tell us a bit about your process/what mediums you used?
This is a self-portrait painting I made just before my birthday - I sometimes like to celebrate a new year by really looking at myself and trying to capture that moment in time. It’s quite out of my comfort zone as I do my best to avoid faces, hands or even colour! This piece uses all three, however, still has my own style. I also made the dress that I’m wearing.
It’s painted using oil on canvas (80x40 cm) and took just over a day to complete.
Is there anything that would you like people to know about you and your work?
My work is very multifaceted, ranging from costume/fashion design and making, to textiles & technology, to traditional crafts, sculpture & more.
A big part of it is drawing. I originally started life drawing to help my fashion illustrations along, to understand ‘what’s under the clothes’. I became obsessed and eventually I started learning more about anatomy to find out what’s under the skin. The illustrations have then made their way onto/inspired the garments that I make - a full circle! Within artwork I really love the sense of energy, for example capturing a quick pose, or working at a fast pace to capture character. That’s why working from life is very important to me. I’m attracted to geometry as well as opposing organic lines.
Will this recognition influence the themes or direction of your future work?
I don’t think it will change anything, but instead amplify it.
What advice would you give to other artists hoping to achieve similar recognition?
Stay true to your style. Listen to what your heart tells you rather than following trends or thinking about what others like. Be proud of what you make.
At any stage, I also think it’s good to learn as much as you can, try as many different materials/mediums as you can and, every now and again, go out of your comfort zone!
Is there someone or something you’d like to dedicate this achievement to?
To the people who encourage me and also who I have learnt from. I’m no stranger to courses, in fact I’m quite addicted to them. I have learnt wonderful things from Joanna Layla in her Fashion Illustration course and also Bríd Higgins in her Portrait painting workshop.
What’s next for you in your artistic journey?
Well for me a big step is sharing my work. I have created a lot over the years but I have great difficulty sharing it, this is something I’m trying to shake off and instead gain strength from, and just go for it.
I’m looking forward to new projects and I plan to learn as well as experiment with new techniques. I am also very excited to become a Fida Member and see what happens!
See more of Stephanie Johnson:
Social Media - @stephzjohnson
Website - https://www.stephaniezjohnson.
