It has been said that the evolution of an artist knows no limits. That is certainly true for this month's cover artist, Susan Johnston. This northshore resident has been an artist since the age of five, and her art has ranged from the traditional to the unusual.

"I painted an egg for President and Mrs. Reagan," Susan chuckled during our interview. "It was for a big Make-A-Wish Foundation fundraiser. The ad agency I worked for in Los Angeles asked me to paint an egg. I did, and it was sent to the Reagans, who both signed it and sent it back to Make-A-Wish. It was auctioned off for the highest amount of money!" Back home in Louisiana, Susan began painting children's furniture when she was pregnant with her first child. She then started doing pieces for family and friends, and her reputation began to grow. The demand for her work soon expanded to include theme painting of walls and rooms, and then murals done under contract for local decorators. Her murals for corporate clients throughout the northshore drew the attention of Robert Cook, a prominent area artist.

In 1999, Cook encouraged Susan to apply to canvas the same realism that she puts into her mural work. That led her to complete a few sample pieces on canvas that were quickly bought by collectors. Based on that early success, Susan completed additional paintings for her first major showing, held last July at Brunner Gallery in Covington.

Art collectors who specialize in works by emerging artists have begun to collect Susan's paintings. A couple from San Francisco purchased two while visiting the northshore, and an executive from New York selected one for her office at a major broadcast network.

Susan's style, as she puts it, is mostly self-taught and is derived from a number of influences. While most of the work she does is in the realist style, she tries everything from abstract to realism to nudes; she has even experimented with sculpture. As a fine arts major at Louisiana State University, Susan was exposed to a variety of art influences, including photography. She most admires the works of Renaissance masters Michelangelo and Rembrandt, photographers Edward Steichen and Ruth Bernhard, and 19th century realist painter George Innis.

It was Innis' work that inspired this month's cover painting, entitled "Quietudes." Susan explains: "I take a little bit of Innis' subject matter and style and mix it with my own to do things the way I would have done it. That's really how you learn as an artist."

Susan Johnston's work, including "Quietudes," can be seen at the Brunner Galleries in downtown Covington.