Johanna Spinks is a British-born, Los Angeles-based oil portrait artist whose work hangs in many museums, galleries, and private collections. Spinks is primarily a portrait artist of heirloom, family, corporate, religious, and bridal portraits, but also a landscape and still life painter. Spinks' work has been featured in the Epoch Times, New York Times, American Artist Magazine, along with TV appearances and radio broadcasts on L.A. TALK Live and OurVentura TV.
Biography
Spinks moved from the UK to New York aged 22, and worked as a journalist and makeup artist before becoming a professional painter. In addition to her commissioned work spanning over 20 years working with portrait clients, Spinks has worked on two public portrait projects : "Face of Malibu" and a similar series in Ventura. She working on another series called "Face of Charleston". In 2012 "The Face of Ventura" portrait collection was exhibited at the Martha V. Smith Pavilion at the Museum of Ventura County sponsored by the non-profit FOOD Share. This was followed by a solo show in 2014 of “The Face of Ventura” at the Museum of Ventura County including an invitational artist’s talk on the project. The 58 painted portraits of Ventura residents was donated to the museums permanent collection, including a portrait of 102 year-old biochemist and philanthropist Howard Boroughs. The museum hosted a solo show of Spinks’ palette knife work, called “Going Under The Knife”, at its Tool Room Gallery, in April 2016. Spinks has been on the teaching faculty at the California Art Institute and The Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art. Spinks’ portrait work was featured in the California Art Club’s hallmark annual events: the 102nd Gold Medal Exhibition at the Pasadena Museum of California Art; the 104th Gold Medal Exhibition at the USC Fisher Museum of Art; the 106th Gold Medal Exhibition at the Autry Museum of the American West. and at the 107th Gold Medal Exhibition at The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles Spinks mentor is eight-time presidential painter Everett Raymond Kinstler, N.A., who she trained under at The Art Students League of New York and The National Academy of Design, New York.
Spinks won The Daler Rowney Award for Painting Excellence at Oil Painters of America National Show in 2008. Spinks was honored as the 2012 "Artist in the Community" recipient at the Mayor's Arts Awards event at the Ventura County Museum on November 15, 2012. Spinks was awarded with The Dolphin Citizen of The Year Awards presented by The Malibu Dolphin Charitable Foundation in March of 2019.
