Johnnie's Art Studio named featured business

By: J. Leslie Riseden

Special Contributor to The Steel Country Bee

"I have been in love with art all my life." So says Johnnie Terry, sole proprietor of Johnnie's Studio and Art Gallery in Avinger. The Avinger Chamber of Commerce recognized Johnnie's as a "Featured Business" on April 7.

The walls of the gallery's high ceiling barely contain an empty space, adorned with much of Johnnie's 40+ years of works in watercolor and oil, as well as those of her students. Attached to some of Johnnie's paintings are ribbons awarded by the Marshall Art League, Marshall Regional Arts Council, and Wildflower Trails of Avinger. While the least expensive item in her gallery is $10, and the most expensive over $1000, most pieces are priced between $50 and $250.

Canvas is not her only medium. "I started painting in the sixties, so we were painting on pottery, glass, driftwood, old shutters -- just about any object that would hold paint," explains Johnnie. Sprinkled on shelves and tables in Johnnie's gallery, one will find a creative assortment of such decorative art. She has also done commissions in private homes, such as bedroom walls with bold flowers or subtle shadows of trees and ferns, and living rooms with elaborate murals and "trompe l'oeil" (French for "to fool the eye") to camouflage an ill-placed door.

On Thursday mornings and evenings, you'll find Johnnie conducting art classes at her studio. (There are a few slots open, and she's planning to start a watercolor class in the next 60 days.) "I try to teach my students to see color and value as an artist, then let them create what they want -- whether it's abstract, realism, impressionism -- whatever."

Besides the art gallery and painting classes, Johnnie also has a very busy face painting business. Along with fellow artist Becky Phillips, "Fantasy Faces" sets up their booth at many of the area's well-known events: Marshall's Wonderland of Lights, Mardi Gras in Jefferson, Yamboree in Gilmer, and Pioneer Days in Pittsburg, to name a few. Fantasy Faces also does face painting at birthday parties, family reunions, and corporate events. Besides traditional fare of flowers, flags, ladybugs and rainbows, their clever designs have included everything from super-hero masks to glasses, mustache, bushy brows and beard on a youngster who "wanted to look like his Paw-Paw."

Johnnie and her husband Glenn have lived in Texas for over 45 years, and settled in the Avinger area in 2000. She opened Johnnie's Gallery in the summer of 2007. Johnnie can scarcely remember when she wasn't enthralled by art. Until she entered ninth grade, Johnnie attended a one-room school in rural Kansas. "On the days that we had art class, I was always so excited." Even today, there are times, she says, when she misses "that feeling of the brush in my hand" and she just has to paint something. Johnnie Terry is an artist to the core, and she brings a unique and valuable resource to the little city of Avinger.

For more information, contact Johnnie's Art Gallery and Studio, #5 Main Street, Avinger, TX 75630. jterryart@gmail.com. Open by appointment. (903) 576-3763.