Meet Leif Johansen | Artist Leif Erik Johansen

We had the good fortune of connecting with Leif Johansen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Leif, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’ve been a creative for as long as I can remember but turning my lifelong hobby into a career concerned me on many levels – I wasn’t sure what trajectory to take; galleries, art festivals, illustration, graphic design etc. I was also concerned about the “starving artist syndrome” or that turning my passion into a job could suck the joy out of it. I was now in my early forties at a job I felt had run its course. I became depressed and an anxious and was in desperate need of a change. Then, I had an injury that changed everything. Two weeks before my first son was born I ruptured my achilles tendon playing in a semi-serious flag football league. My girlfriend and I were particularly distraught over this injury because my wife was scheduled for a C-section. The recovery time for both surgeries is about three months. We had very little savings and we were desperate. We had moved to Asheville two years prior with the intentions to start and family and begin my art career, but if I’m being totally honest, I was intimidated to take the leap. This injury was the nudge I needed. I had no idea what I was doing, so I watched a lot of youtube videos, I asked a lot of questions and read a lot of books on the subject. I painted my ass off and slowly raised my prices. I began to introduce more product such as, limited edition prints and framed prints and to my surprise it was working. Sometimes it takes a desperate situation to make the necessary change you need in life.

Once I began my career I knew it was what I was meant to do, what I was born to do and I had neglected it for far too long. I was 43 years old when this all happened. I had dropped out of college in my late twenties and had been waiting tables for 25 years up to that point. I felt I had no other options if this new career didn’t pan out, therefore, I adopted the mantra, “I have no alternative but to succeed!” I recently celebrated ten years of being in business without the need for a second job and my income has increased by roughly 10% every year since I began. This might sound strange, but I am so grateful I ruptured my achilles tendon in 2012!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I AM A SELF-TAUGHT ARTIST WHO EXPLORES OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE NATURAL WORLD THROUGH MY SURREALIST LENS. THE CONVERSATIONS I’VE HAD AND OVERHEARD AT MY ART SHOWS HAVE ENCOURAGED AND INSPIRED ME TO KEEP PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF WHAT I’M CAPABLE OF.

ACADEMIC CHALLENGES, LINKED TO UNDIAGNOSED LEARNING DISABILITIES SUCH AS ADHD AND DYSLEXIA, MADE TRADITIONAL EDUCATION DIFFICULT FOR ME. DESPITE THESE HURDLES, OR PERHAPS BECAUSE OF THEM, MY PASSION FOR THE ARTS THRIVED (I SPENT A LOT OF TIME DRAWING AND DOODLING WHEN I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE PAYING ATTENTION IN CLASS). NEEDLESS TO SAY MY COLLEGE CAREER WAS BRIEF. ALTHOUGH ENCOURAGED BY MY HIGH SCHOOL ART TEACHER, FAMILY AND FRIENDS TO PURSUE A FORMAL ART DEGREE, I CHOSE A DIFFERENT PATH, OPTING FOR SELF-EDUCATION THROUGH TRAVEL, BOOKS AND EXPERIENCES. THIS UNCONVENTIONAL APPROACH TOOK ME TO 17 COUNTRIES, INCLUDING: CHINA, INDIA, THAILAND, LOAS, VIETNAM, NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIA, MEXICO AND PARTS OF EUROPE. I GAINED A MUCH DEEPER APPRECIATION FOR THE ROLE ART HAS PLAYED THROUGHOUT HISTORY AND THE INCREDIBLE DIVERSITY THIS WORLD HAS TO OFFER. I WAS EXPOSED TO MANY UNIQUE AND INTERESTING ART FORMS, BIZARRE RITUALS, FOODS, CUSTOMS AND NATURAL WONDERS, IT WAS ALL VERY INSPIRING! IT WASN’T LONG BEFORE MY CREATIVITY BEGAN TO BUBBLE UP AND OVERFLOW OUT OF ME LIKE A GEYSER.

ALTHOUGH I’VE HAD A LOT OF SUCCESS MY CAREER AS NOT BEEN EASY, BUT IT’S THE STRUGGLES THAT MAKE US BETTER ARTISTS AND BETTER HUMAN BEINGS. DURING A WINE TASTING AT A RESTAURANT I WORKED AT YEARS AGO THE WINE REP WAS DISCUSSING HOW VINES HAVE TO STRUGGLE TO PRODUCE INTERESTING WINE WITH DEPTH AND COMPLEXITY. HE SAID, “WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH SOMEONE WHO’S HAD AN EASY LIFE, WHO WAS BORN WITH A SILVER SPOON IN THEIR MOUTH OR SOMEONE WHO HAS STRUGGLED?” HE’S RIGHT! LIFE HAS ALWAYS FELT A BIT DIFFICULT TO ME AND I HOPE SOME PEOPLE CAN RELATE TO THAT. MY SON INHERITED MY ADHD AND IN MY ATTEMPT TO SPARE HIM SOME OF THE THE ACADEMIC TRAUMA I EXPERIENCED I’VE EDUCATED MYSELF ON THESE “LEARNING DIFFERENCES” AND I’VE COME TO REALIZE MOST OF MY STRUGGLES IN LIFE ARE A DIRECT RESULT OF THE SYMPTOMS AND CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH ADHD AND DYSLEXIA. HOWEVER, I’VE ALSO COME TO REALIZE IT’S BEEN A BLESSING IN DISGUISE. YES, INCREASED SENSITIVITY IS A BYPRODUCT OF ADHD AND EMOTIONAL REGULATION CAN BE CHALLENGING, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU’RE YOUNGER, BUT I’VE COME TO REALIZE IT’S OFTEN THE MOST VULNERABLE AND SENSITIVE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD WHO CREATE THE MOST INTERESTING ART. I’VE LEARNED TO EMBRACE THESE DIFFERENCES AND I’LL ADMIT IT WAS SELF-AFFIRMING TO READ THAT THE TOP JOBS FOR DYSLEXICS ARE; ARTIST, ACTOR, ARCHITECT AND ENTREPRENEUR. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN 40% OF SELF-MADE MILLIONAIRES ARE DYSLEXIC AND SOME OF THE MOST PROMINENT GENIUSES OF OUR TIME WERE DYSLEXIC INCLUDING; PABLO PICASSO, ALBERT EINSTEIN, STEVE JOBS, JOHN LENNON, THOMAS EDISON AND ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL. DYSLEXICS SEE THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY. I SUPPOSE THESE EXPERIENCES AND CHALLENGES HAS HELPED TO SET ME APART FROM THE AVERAGE ARTIST OR AT LEAST I HOPE SO.

A CAREER IN THE ARTS CAN BE EXTREMELY REWARDING BUT IT ALSO TAKES A LOT OF HUSTLE. THERE WILL BE A NUMBER OF SETBACKS, AS IS TRUE WITH ANY SMALL BUSINESS. I’VE COME TO REALIZE A LOT OF WHAT I DO IS PLANTING SEEDS, I’VE HAD TO LEARN TO BE PATIENCE WITH MY WORK AND MY CAREER AND CONSTANTLY THINKING OF NEW WAYS BUILD ON MY SUCCESSES. IT’S BEEN SAID, ‘COMPLACENCY IS THE KISS OF DEATH.”

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’d start in little five points. I first moved to Atlanta in 1992 and have seen a lot of changes. My tastes were alternative and gravitated towards the counterculture and it seemed, at least at the time little five points was the epicenter of this counterculture. The nice thing about the area is it feels like you’re going back in time, not much has changed in the heart of LFP. I’d take them to criminal records, wax-n-trax and Rag-o-rama. We’d go to the Vortex and yacht club for a drink and catch a show at the Variety Playhouse.

I’d drive them around some of my favorite neighborhoods like Virginia Highlands, Decatur and Inman Park and check out some of the beautiful bungalows and Victorian houses. We’d hit up Fellini’s pizza or La Fonda on Ponce de Leon for casual lunch and have a drink at the historic Atkins Park. Perhaps that evening I’d take them to MJQ for some dancing and the Clermont Lounge if things get wild.

I’d make sure we go to the High museum and the aquarium, because both are a must see in Atlanta.

I’d make sure we took a stroll through Piedmont park and hit up some stellar foodie restaurants likes, Argosy, Boccalupo or Chai Pani.

We’d check out East Atlanta, Cabbagetown and Old Fourth Ward. We’d hit up the Church for some drinks after seeing another show at The Earl or Terminal West.

We’d also go check out National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Greg Mikes ABV gallery and drive them through the krog tunnel before renting some bikes and riding down the Beltline.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I suppose there are many. I wouldn’t be where I’m at today without the support from my wife Angie Dahm and my parents Leif Johansen and Linda Kieffer who always encouraged me with my creative endeavors. I also wouldn’t be where I am today without the helpful advice from artists like; Brian Mashburn, Phillip Singer, Jason and Lauren Weatherspoon, Gabriel Shaffer, Athlone Clarke and Chris Cumbie. I also read the book Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland and it had a profound effect on me.

Website: https://www.leiferikjohansen.com/

Instagram: leiferik40

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leiferik.johansen.5/