Cheralynn Johnston, an artist and educator from Orange County, California, credits art as a force that brings balance to her life. As a child, Cheralynn’s first exposure to art was through her mother, who also an artist, inspired Cheralynn with her creativity and passion. This first introduction to art would later motivate Cheralynn to make the decision to pursue a teaching career in the field. Much of Cheralynn’s life is encompassed by art. It is what she teaches, admires, and creates.

As a teacher, Cheralynn is constantly reminded of her own artistic passions whenever she encourages her students to enjoy the process of creating art. Rather than only focusing on the skills and techniques involved in production, Cheralynn emphasizes the importance of expressing ideas and feelings. Just as art is a living changing form, Cheralynn continually works to modify and refine her own techniques. Employing primarily charcoals and oils, Cheralynn presently focuses on limiting her color palette and loosening her brush strokes in order to express more emotion through her works.

Drawing inspiration from the creativity and craftsmanship of contemporary artists such as Ray Caesar and Joshua Petkur, and the impressionistic realism utilized by great artists such as Van Gogh and Klimt, Cheralynn incorporates these varying techniques into her own art in order to evoke feelings of cheerfulness and appreciation for the everyday. Recently, the subjects of Cheralynn’s works are scenes of daily life from the waist down. These whimsical images of random passersby on a New York street offer viewers an opportunity to create their own assumptions about the day-to-day lives of people.