Bruce Johnson, born in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1944, began his art training at the Baum School of Art,where his mother was a teacher. Later, he was guided and encouraged by Jim Musselman, an outstanding art teacher, who prepared him for the Philadelphia College of Art. There he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, while studying under Boris Drucker, Edna Andrade, and Marvin Bileck. Bruce then served three years as a U.S. Army Illustrator in Europe, where he received the Army Commendation Medal for outstanding design work with NATO. Following the Army, he was an art director for WITF-TV, and during his tenure there won many design and promotion awards from National Educational Television and the National Association of Educational Broadcasters. From 1973 to 1979 he was Executive Art Director for Armstrong World Industries in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was the recipient of many design awards from the New York Art Directors Club, and the Creativity Show. It was during these years that he also became very involved with watercolor. His interest in watercolor grew as his interest in advertising design lessened, and in 1979 he left the field of advertising to pursue painting and drawing. Since that time, he has become a member of the prestigious American Watercolor Society, The Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, and the Philadelphia Watercolor Club. He built his own gallery and framing shop in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Bruce's work has been seen in many one-man shows, as well as group shows. He enjoys showing in many of the major outdoor shows such as Ann Arbor, Michigan, Annapolis, Maryland, and State College Pennsylvania, where he was able to meet people, and get a first-hand reaction to his work. When time permits, he has watercolor workshops and demonstrations. He was also co-founder of the Mt. Gretna Outdoor Art Show, which has become one of Pennsylvania's major summer events.

Bruce Johnson is already recognized for his whimsical pen and ink "Statements." These humorous, often outlandish, always penetrating statements about the human condition have quickly become the prized possessions of collectors everywhere. "Statements" are available in hundreds of galleries across the United States and several foreign countries.

One Man Watercolor shows

Each year since 1980 he has traveled abroad to paint, first to England, then Germany, Austria, Holland, China, the former Yugoslavia, Provence, France, the former Soviet Union, Switzerland, Italy, and most recently, Ireland. These trips provide a get-a-way; a chance to work outside, and actually become involved the people and their villages. The color, light, and feeling of each country is different, and he captures those nuances in his paintings. In England the skies were captivating; in Holland, water and reflections became his main theme. The people and their way of life in the market place, and on the waterways, caught his attention in China. While working abroad, the weather usually dictates the number of finished paintings he brings back. However, upon returning to his Annville studio, he works for several months, using his sketches and photographs as reference. Following each trip, he has had a one-man show in his own gallery, Gallery 444 LTD. Each show has had beween 65 to 125 original paintings, and the results of these shows have been pheonomenal over the last fourteen years. Due to the success of these shows, there are few original paintings available in other galleries. Thus, Bruce has decided to publish limited edition prints which will make his work available to others. Bruce has recently developed his watercolors in silkscreened prints, which are hand-pulled limited editions. Some of his "Statements" have also been complete as hand-pulled lithographs. The printing is supervised by Bruce and only the highest quality papers are used. Each print is hand signed and numbered.