Darling of the Month - Meet magical Johanna!

Hello again to a new Darling of the month! This time I am proud to present you a wonderful talented young lady: My friend Johanna. For me she is a real forest fairy, such a caring person and magical soul she is!

I stumbled upon her and her art about a year ago and I can't see enough of her drawings that look so real, just like taken directly from mother nature. I am happy to have her here on my blog ( :

Enjoy the interview with her! ♥

Hello Darling! Tell us a few things about yourself!

Hello there! 

My name is Johanna and am just another human living somewhere on this earth. I find it difficult to write about myself - I much rather tend to hide my thoughts in other forms like creating art. 

 

In which way do you feel connected to nature?

I like finding things in nature that can also be found in humans - our veins look like rivers seen from above. 

Truly I feel  like I am an observer of nature. I like how everything seems to kind of harmonise with each other. For example in a forest all life-cycles are connected to one another in someway. The trees lose their leaves in autumn and for this reason certain mushroom types get the chance to spread out their mycelium while the leaves decay- when in spring the trees are still leafless many little plants such as the wood anemone can use the sunlight that now reaches the ground for their growth or the cycle from the caterpillar turning into a beautiful butterfly. These are just tiny examples but there are many cycles to find in nature - I like observing and at times documenting them in form of a painting or poem. I see myself as somebody who appreciates and learns from nature.

What inspires you?

Often I am most inspired after visiting a botanical garden or 
during a hike in the forest. There is just something about the diversity
of plants and animals that fascinates me as well as stimulates to keep 
their wonderful appearance in form of a painting, sketch or poem. I also
feel inspired when looking at paintings or illustrations. Visiting 
museums as well as looking through books makes me want to create. 
However somedays really simple things like the smell of cinnamon or the 
sound of rain on my window can make me feel inspired as well. 

Who are your favourite artists and why?

I really have many favourite artists. There are artists whose art I admire and whose art make me feel something- you could say their paintings make me kind of emotional. Frida Kahlo and Vincent van Gogh for example. But I also have favourite artists whose art fascinates me immensely and makes me want to work harder to achieve drawing skills as good as theirs. For example Maria Sybilla Merian, Albrecht Durer and many other scientific illustrators. I recently discovered a painting in an art gallery from
a certain Otto van Schrieck and I am just utterly fascinated by his artworks! Other painters like Matisse, Monet, Sisley, Pissaro and Boudin give me a pleasant feeling- looking at their art is quite wonderful! 

When did you start drawing nature related things?

About three years ago I was looking through books in an antique 
bookstore when I found myself looking at an illustrated mushroom book. 
The illustrations made me want to go out and explore the forest. 
Somehow I started copying some of the illustrations and I found out 
that I loved painting nature. Sadly I didn't have a lot of time and did not 
continue painting for quite a time.  
When I went to America in 2013 I had a lot of free time and found myself 
copying the drawings of an illustrated flower identification books I had 
gotten as a gift. The world of nature started fascinating me more than 
ever especially after traveling from one national park to the other. 
This is how I started painting nature related things much more than before. 

After a few months I got a wonderful box full of watercolour for my birthday and 
I have not stopped using it since. 

What stationery tools do you use?

I use watercolour paint from Schminke, Van Gogh and Winsor & 
Newton. My fineliners are mostly from Staedtler also I use H4-H7 
pencils for sketching. 

Do you keep journals? If so what do they mean to you?

For many years I kept photo diaries because I had an intense fear 
of forgetting. Sadly I do not have as much time for myself anymore 
because of school and stopped last year. It is very hard choosing how 
you want to use your free time. I was keeping a written journal but
I think that I cannot express my feelings, fears and thoughts in a 
journal but much rather in form of poetry or silly writings. It is very 
hard to truly write what I feel and for this reason I am currently not 
keeping a journal. I do however keep a nature journal in which I keep 
dried plants or observations. My nature journals means a lot to me 
because they are filled with wonderful things I have witnessed- also 
keeping a nature journal helps me to remember different species I saw 
better than just reading about them. 

What's the reason for your passion for insects?

I am note sure why I adore insects as much as I do. I think it 
might have to do with the fact that not many people pay attention to 
them or see their fascinating beauty. For some reason 
many do not understand the importance of insects! Honestly I just find 
them pleasant and adorable little creatures. 

When do you find yourself drawing?

I find myself drawing whenever I get the chance really. It makes me
miserable when I don't have enough time to paint. School takes up a lot
of energy and it saddens me. 

Apart from drawing, what 3 things do you love the most?

Oh I love many things! But if I'd have to chose three at the moment
I'd say going for walks or bike rides, reading lovely books while 
listening to music and editing videos for my youtube channel! 

What's your favourite music?

I never truly have favourite music but I always like listening to 
Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, Ella Fitzgerald.. but also Keaton Henson,
Alex Turner, Velvet Underground and at the moment
Misophone and Lullatone. 

I also often just put on an 8tracks playlist to listen
to music- I like to be surprised and listen to songs I do not know yet. 

What are your future dreams?

This question is very hard to answer. For myself I hope to live a 
happy and healthy life without too much fear, pain and loss - I do not 
think I could bear it. Also I wish to take a path in life that makes me
happy rather than miserable. I wish to never stop creating and that I will
be able to share my art with lovely people who appreciate nature as well. 
For the world I really wish that we would reconsider our waste production 
and extreme mass production of food. I wish we could find other ways to 
pack our food- rather than in plastic. I wish more people would buy fresh 
food- rather than finished products in plastic boxes. I wish we would 
think about other ways of transport. 

I wish we would at least try to stop ruining our planet. 

If you want to see more of Johanna's art, check out her blog, flickr and tumblr!

Please note that all photos shown in this post are property of Johanna! Do not use without permission!

Also want to become a "Darling of the month"? Send me an E-Mail at 
talesofaflowerchild@gmx.de or first read here!