Self taught painter and photographer, Johanna Stickland explores the beautiful contours and emotions in the body of a woman. She draws inspiration from living in an isolated environment, through emotions and conflicts, deep desires and her secret inner world, as well as everyday faces, nature, poetry, music and most importantly the human body and femininity.
Johanna, originally from Canada, lives in a small village in Portugal and paints full time. Her career began in modelling which quickly segued into jumping behind the camera. Fascinated by portraiture and the female form, this led her to painting. She works mostly with oil on canvas and watercolours on paper, sometimes experimenting with pencil and charcoal to capture her female subjects.
Explaining the intimate details of her paintings, Johanna told us, “Most of my works are based on pictures I have taken of others or casual self portraits I take in a quiet moment. I depict my world in a ways that I find beautiful; whether that be in a peaceful, serene way or something more haunted and bathed in shadows”.