The work of watercolorist Susan Johnston, formerly of Mount Pleasant, is on display in the Iowa Wesleyan College Art Gallery. The show will be on display through September 18.
Johnston moved to Dover, Delaware, from Iowa in the spring of 2008 when her husband, Bill Johnston, became President of Wesley College. Bill Johnston had served as President of Iowa Wesleyan College for six years.
Susan Johnston’s watercolors have been accepted in regional and national shows, where she has garnered numerous awards. Her work is in public and private collections in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri and West Virginia. In the fall of 2009 she was accepted as a signature member of the Baltimore Watercolor Society. Her works have received the “Best of Show” at the Delaware Watercolor Society annual state show in 2009 and the Delaware Watercolor Show at the Biggs Museum of American Art in May 2011. Her paintings have been accepted at the Baltimore Watercolor Society Mid-Atlantic Regional Show at the Strathmore Mansion, Rockville, Maryland 2010 and 2011.
In April 2011, Johnston presented a solo show on the Mezzanine at the Carvel State Building, Wilmington, Delaware, through the Delaware Division of the Arts.
“Delaware by Hand” has given her “master” status and her work, along with others, will be featured at the Biggs Museum of American Art in November 2011.
Since 2000, Johnston has been an organizer and artist for an international organization, “Journees de Peintures.” Art Groups from England, France, Switzerland, Belgium and the United States come together once a year in a different country for a week of painting “en plein air” and fellowship. The group painted in the mountains of Valois near Geneva, Switzerland, July 23-30.
Johnston’s activities in the arts over the last 40 years have included teaching art for 15 years in the public schools in Ohio and West Virginia and illustrating for a national publication, House Plant Magazine. Through downtown historic preservation programs she has promoted community and business opportunities for artists in Elkins and Wheeling, West Virginia. While serving as a volunteer for Iowa Wesleyan College, her activities included promoting the Harlan-Lincoln Home and history as well as the college’s permanent art collection.
The Iowa Wesleyan College Art Gallery is located at the main entrance to the P.E.O. Administration Building on North Main Street in Mount Pleasant. It is open to the public free of charge. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
