A fresh face takes up residence at the Paseo Arts and Creativity Center

Castle in the Sky

Just over a year ago, the Paseo Arts Association (PAA) ambitiously opened the then-new Paseo Arts and Creativity Center (PACC) in the face of a global pandemic. With the mission of engaging and edifying local artists, the PACC enabled the PAA to help heal and sustain OKC creatives and empowered them to thrive through its programming and resources. One of the new facets of artist engagement they embraced was the artist in residence (AIR) program. A very long year later the PACC is entering a new season and along with it introducing us to a fresh face as the PACC AIR, Verdean Thompson Johnson.

This Douglass High School grad has been working hard to make his mark on the OKC art scene and it is beginning to show. In 2019 he entered the Artspace at Untitled Mentorship Program and was recognized with the 2019 Outstanding Senior Award. Soon after, Thompson Johnson was afforded the opportunity to work as an assistant to local artist Markus Muse assisting him with the Royal Tones mural now displayed on the Jeltz Senior Living Center. He also showcased a mural in the Still Here exhibit in the Myriad Gardens and created a site-specific piece for the Plaza District as well.

In early January of this year, Thompson Johnson was awarded the People’s Choice Award for Arts Council OKC’s FRESH PAINT: OKC NYE presented by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Along with four other finalists, he live-painted his own 8”x8” mural. Over the course of the next several days, the public voted on the five separate murals and with an overwhelming public response, Thompson was chosen as the winner.

His FRESH PAINT: OKC NYE accolade garnered the attention of a local downtown brewery Lively Beerworks. Lively had recently kicked off their one-off Lab Series beers and sought him out to feature his art on their exclusive release of Dear, Joy, a tangerine milkshake IPA.

In May the PAA announced Verdean Thompson Johnson as its second PACC AIR beginning July 1. Verdean will create a body of work entitled Flowers while serving as AIR. This series will be comprised of expressive paintings of public figures, role models, friends and mentors. He intends to show viewers through his renderings in Flowers how these people have impacted life and affected the inflection of his trajectory as an artist and a person. Thompson Johnson will then gift the paintings to the subjects themselves to communicate the often neglected gift-nature of a creative work. 

Look for Flowers and other upcoming programming including Verdean Thompson Johnson and updates about the PACC at thepaseo.org/PACC.

Oklahoma City’s Unique Arts Destination, the Paseo Arts District is located between NW 27th & 30th Streets and Walker & Hudson. A wide range of galleries, ten restaurants and a handful of shops round out the Paseo’s distinctive atmosphere. For more information, call the Paseo Arts Association at (405) 525-2688 or email at [email protected]. Visit thepaseo.org/join for membership information.