Artist Stephen T. Johnson’s mixed media Kana Card series combines the spontaneity of fluid paint with collage to create colorful, intimate images. Learn more by visiting his website.
!["Kana Card No.26.1" Archival Print on 100% Museo Portfolio Rag Paper, 24" x 33" by artist Stephen T. Johnson. See his portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Kana-Card-No.26.1-Archival-print-on-100-Museo-Portfolio-Rag-Paper-24-x-33-inches-325x450.jpg)
“Kana Card No.26.1″ Archival Print on 100% Museo Portfolio Rag Paper, 24″ x 33”
Years ago on a trip through Japan, I bought a small box of Kana Cards in Kyoto.
!["Kana Card No.37" Oil, Acrylic and Collage on a Kana Card, 2" x 3" by artist Stephen T. Johnson. See his portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Kana-Card-No.37-Oil-acrylic-and-collage-on-a-kana-card-2-x-3-inches-326x450.jpg)
“Kana Card No.37″ Oil, Acrylic and Collage on a Kana Card, 2″ x 3”
These cards are used to learn Japanese syllable script called Katagana and Hiragana and each one has beautifully printed Kanji on off-white card stock.
!["Kana Card No.43" Oil, Acrylic and Collage on a Kana Card, 2" x 3"by artist Stephen T. Johnson. See his portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/kana-Card-No.43-Oil-acrylic-and-collage-on-a-kana-card-2-x-3-inches-323x450.jpg)
“Kana Card No.43″ Oil, Acrylic and Collage on a Kana Card, 2″ x 3”
Beginning in 2016, I have used these cards to provide a support upon which I create intimate, abstract paintings and collages that form my ongoing Kana Card Series.
!["Kana Card No.80" Oil, Acrylic and Collage on a Kana Card, 2" x 3"by artist Stephen T. Johnson. See his portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Kana-Card-No.80-Oil-acrylic-and-collage-on-a-kana-card-2-x-3-inches-328x450.jpg)
“Kana Card No.80″ Oil, Acrylic and Collage on a Kana Card, 2″ x 3”
Working within their small 2 x 3 inch format, and using their black calligraphic characters as an inspirational point of departure, I combine the unctuous fluidity of paint with the vernacular constructs of collage to produce works combining spontaneity and measured thought.
!["Kana Card No.104" Oil, Acrylic and Collage on a Kana Card, 2" x 3" by artist Stephen T. Johnson. See his portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Kana-Card-No.104-Oil-acrylic-and-collage-on-a-kana-card-2-x-3-inches-2-322x450.jpg)
“Kana Card No.104″ Oil, Acrylic and Collage on a Kana Card, 2″ x 3”
These compositions invite explorations of a complex topographical world where colors, textures and movement engage both eye and mind.
!["Kana Card No.29.1" Archival Print on 100% Museo Portfolio Rag Paper, 24" x 33" by artist Stephen T. Johnson. See his portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Kana-Card-No.29.1-Archival-print-on-100-Museo-Portfolio-Rag-Paper-24-x-33-inches-323x450.jpg)
“Kana Card No.29.1″ Archival Print on 100% Museo Portfolio Rag Paper, 24″ x 33”
Recently, I have had a small selection of my Kana Card paintings photographed in sections, then combined to create a single, large high-resolution file, enlarged to almost twelve-hundred percent (1200%) then printed on 100% portfolio rag paper.
!["Kana Card No.90.1" Archival Print on 100% Museo Portfolio Rag Paper, 24" x 33" by artist Stephen T. Johnson. See his portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Kana-Card-No.90.1-Archival-print-on-100-Museo-Portfolio-Rag-Paper-24-x-33-inches-335x450.jpg)
“Kana Card No.90.1″ Archival Print on 100% Museo Portfolio Rag Paper, 24″ x 33”
The dramatic change of scale is remarkable. Details emerge unexpectedly where formerly the numerous small gestures now become grand, sweeping dramatic marks.
!["Kana Card No.101.1" Archival Print on 100% Museo Portfolio Rag Paper, 24" x 33" by artist Stephen T. Johnson. See his portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Kana-Card-No.101.1-Archival-print-on-100-Museo-Portfolio-Rag-Paper-24-x-33-inches-326x450.jpg)
“Kana Card No.101.1″ Archival Print on 100% Museo Portfolio Rag Paper, 24″ x 33”
With the large format of these works, the exaggerated textures, paper edges, expressiveness of the brushstrokes and minor bits of previously unimportant areas are transformed into a new pictorial genre.
!["Kana Card No.47" Oil, Acrylic and Collage on a Kana Card, 2" x 3"by artist Stephen T. Johnson. See his portfolio by visiting www.ArtsyShark.com](https://www.artsyshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Kana-Card-No.47-Oil-acrylic-and-collage-on-a-kana-card-2-x-3-inches-323x450.jpg)
“Kana Card No.47″ Oil, Acrylic and Collage on a Kana Card, 2″ x 3”
My Kana Card Series continues to provide me with an open, free associative source of abstract exploration using scale and the intermixture of painting and collage.
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