"A refreshing departure into creative portraiture, " Everett Raymond Kinstler, N.A., painter of eight American presidents and a who's who of America over the last 60 years.

Four years ago portrait artist Johanna Spinks put down her portraitist brush and picked up a palette knife to paint most of the faces she saw in her world. Here is a record of that journey so far.

Johanna Spinks is a British-born, Los Angeles based oil 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. She specializes in heirloom, family, corporate, religious, and bridal portrait commissions. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, American Artist Magazine, and Art Talk, along with TV and radio appearances on L.A. TALK Live and OurVentura TV. She has received awards and distinctions from 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, The California State Senate, and The Mayor of Ventura for her art work in the community, winning Artist of The Year in 2012. In addition to her commissioned work, spanning over 20 years working with portrait clients, Johanna has worked on two widely celebrated public portrait projects in the cities of Ventura and Malibu and has just embarked on her third in Charleston, 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 and is now in the permanent collection of the Museum of Ventura County.