~Johanna Spinks is a Los Angeles based portrait artist whose work hangs in museums, galleries, and private collections all over the world. Mentored by eight-time presidential portrait artist Everett Raymond Kinstler N.A., Johanna’s style can best be described as classical with a contemporary palette knife twist. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, American Artist Magazine, International Artist Magazine, Where Women Create, American Art Collector and Art Talk, along with TV and radio appearances on L.A. TALK Live and OurVentura TV. She has received recognition for her portraits from The United States Congress, The California State Senate, Oil Painters of America National shows including The Daler Rowney Award for Painting Excellence in 2008, American Artist Magazine Award of Artistic Achievement, 2004, The Portrait Society of America Ambassador Certificate of Achievement for her three year term as C.A. State Ambassador, 2009, The Portrait Society of Atlanta First Place National Show, 2008, , and The Mayor of Ventura for her art work in the community, winning Artist of The Year in 2012. Spinks also just won a highly prized ‘Citizen of The Year’ Dolphin Award 2018 for her community portrait series awarded by The Malibu Dolphin Charitable Foundation. Spinks exhibits regularly with the historical California Art Club’s Annual Gold Medal National Juried Exhibitions, all museum shows. Spinks’ has five portraits in the permanent collection of The Players’ Club of New York including Norman Rockwell and actress Angela Lansbury. In addition to her commissioned work, spanning over 20 years working with portrait clients from all over the world, Johanna has worked on two widely celebrated public portrait projects in the cities of Ventura and Malibu, each time working with a different local newspaper, with each sitter being interviewed along with the painted life sketch. "The Face of Ventura" featured 58 life portraits, including Kevin Costner, and is now in the permanent collection of the Museum of Ventura County with the Museum hosting a solo show of Johanna’s palette knife portrait work, called “Going Under The Knife” in April 2016. Fall 2017 saw a solo show "The Face of Malibu” sponsored by The Malibu Cultural Arts Commission featuring 60 life portraits, including four town mayors and California State Senator Henry Stern. Museum shows for 2018 included "The California Art Club Gold Medal Juried Exhibition” at The Los Angeles Natural History Museum and "On Location In Malibu 2018 with the CAC at The Weisman Museum of Art, C.A. Spinks exhibited Spring 2019 with CAC Gold at the former Museum of Pasadena of California Art.
