Cover artist inspired by local scenery

Vernon — “It’s in the blood,” said Johnston Williams, a lifelong artist and recent winner in the annual cover competition for Warwick Valley Telephone. This year, Williams’s “Summer Scene - Warwick” took third place. Last year, his mixed media “Springtime Barn” won the top spot and is featured on the telephone directory cover that is effective through June. Sussex County’s scenery inspires him, says Williams. While driving through the area and adjacent New York and Pennsylvania, he photographs the landscapes and images that strike his eye. Later he uses those photos as guides for his paintings. In addition to his own pastoral work, he takes on commissions from homeowners for house portraits. Williams says he knew he wanted to be an artist from an early age. “It’s an itch.” Always drawing and sketching as a child, Williams, who is now 88, found inspiration in the work of the classic artists such as Rembrandt. He also admired illustrators from the 1950s, ‘60s and 70s, especially those whose works appeared in “The Saturday Evening Post.” He prefers realism. “Modern art is not my cup of tea,” Williams says. Originally from the Bronx, he trained at The Leonardo Da Vinci Art School in Manhattan (now closed) and later, after four years in the Navy, at The Art Institute of Chicago. In 1952, Williams moved back to New York, working as a commercial artist specializing in photographic retouching, mechanical drawing and art cut-a-ways. After 41 years of work as a commercial artist, freelancing from his home studio in New Jersey and later while living in Michigan, he returned to New Jersey, to marry his high school sweetheart. “She looked me up on the Internet,” he chuckled. Williams is a member of the Sussex County Arts & Heritage Council in Newton where he continues to exhibit his work. The Warwick Valley Telephone Directory Competition is held each year, with the winners announced in November for the next year’s phone book.