ABOUT

Tom Johnston is an artist based in Austin, Texas.

Raised in South Florida and having lived throughout the United States and Canada, Johnston considers himself a lifelong observer of people. Long before taking up painting in 2022, he spent years searching for ways to give shape to the thoughts and experiences that occupy everyday life.

His paintings are populated by tired people, selfish people, lonely people, and occasionally decent people having a bad day. Though set in imagined worlds, the paintings are less concerned with a particular time or place than with the absurdity and familiarity of human behavior itself.

Influenced by philosophers, writers, musicians, and artists including Friedrich Nietzsche, Albert Camus, Randy Newman, Edward Hopper, and Mark Rothko, Johnston's work balances melancholy with humor and cynicism with empathy.

He would like to believe he’s an optimist. Most mornings, he is. By about noon, he isn't so sure.

Tom lives and works in Austin with his wife Samantha. Together they operate Sweet Dreams Creative and distribute artwork under Minor Signs Studio.