Painted by Dina - About Dina Johnson

I have been painting for many years. Recently I have gone back to my roots, drawing and painting animals, which has become more rewarding than I could ever imagine. I feel very connected to my pets and all animals and although I have never had any formal training, my love and understanding of them has helped me to capture their personality in my paintings. The bond I have with animals has given me the ability to create them the way that I see them. My art teacher gave me a set of colored pencils and I was intrigued with the life like appearance of my animal portraits and I continued to draw them from photographs.

I didn’t start dabbling in paint until I was about 25 years old and started my first business, ‘The Country Kitten’. I focused on painting CATS. I painted them on wood, which I learned to cut myself with a few different types of wood working saws. When I became interested in Folk Art and Antiques, I was inspired to design hand lettered signs and décor which I created from wood salvaged from old houses and barns. My signs were good representations of the ‘signs’ of yesterday. I entered into as many craft shows as I could and booked almost 40 shows a year. I received many ribbons for my sign work. My work was received so well that I had many requests for custom cats and signs. The demand for my handmade Folk Art had continued so I decided to fulfill my dream of opening my own shop where I could display my work. We bought an ‘old’ farmhouse with a large Dairy Barn in upstate NY and renovated it. In 1994 I opened ‘The Country Kitten Country Shoppe’. It was a perfect showcase for my work, along with other artists and craftsmen.

As time went by, my personal life brought many changes and unfortunately many losses. What affected me the most were the loss of my beloved pets, and since I had such a difficult time dealing with their loss, I decided to start painting them on wood and canvas,using acrylic paints. My customers have been extremely happy with their finished portrait. I plan to continue painting animals until the day I leave the planet.

I live in Middletown, CT with my fioncee, Mike, 1 cat; Polar Bear, and 2 labs; Mario, who was rescued from a shelter, and Dalton,, who was rescued from Labs4rescue. I'm also a dedicated volunteer for Our Companions Domestic Animal Sanctuary. Besides my work for animal welfare, Mario and I are certified with Delta Society for Pet Therapy and volunteer at a local Children’s Hospital.

				I have been painting for many years. Recently I have gone back to my roots, drawing and painting animals, which has become more rewarding than I could ever imagine. I feel very connected to my pets and all animals and although I have never had any formal training, my love and understanding of them has helped me to capture their personality in my paintings. The bond I have with animals has given me the ability to create them the way that I see them. My art teacher gave me a set of colored pencils and I was intrigued with the life like appearance of my animal portraits and I continued to draw them from photographs. I didn’t start dabbling in paint until I was about 25 years old and started my first business, ‘The Country Kitten’. I focused on painting CATS. I painted them on wood, which I learned to cut myself with a few different types of wood working saws. When I became interested in Folk Art and Antiques, I was inspired to design hand lettered signs and décor which I created from wood salvaged from old houses and barns. My signs were good representations of the ‘signs’ of yesterday. I entered into as many craft shows as I could and booked almost 40 shows a year. I received many ribbons for my sign work. My work was received so well that I had many requests for custom cats and signs. The demand for my handmade Folk Art had continued so I decided to fulfill my dream of opening my own shop where I could display my work. We bought an ‘old’ farmhouse with a large Dairy Barn in upstate NY and renovated it. In 1994 I opened ‘The Country Kitten Country Shoppe’. It was a perfect showcase for my work, along with other artists and craftsmen. As time went by, my personal life brought many changes and unfortunately many losses. What affected me the most were the loss of my beloved pets, and since I had such a difficult time dealing with their loss, I decided to start painting them on wood and canvas,using acrylic paints. My customers have been extremely happy with their finished portrait. I plan to continue painting animals until the day I leave the planet. I live in Middletown, CT with my fioncee, Mike, 1 cat; Polar Bear, and 2 labs; Mario, who was rescued from a shelter, and Dalton,, who was rescued from Labs4rescue. I'm also a dedicated volunteer for Our Companions Domestic Animal Sanctuary. Besides my work for animal welfare, Mario and I are certified with Delta Society for Pet Therapy and volunteer at a local Children’s Hospital.








				All Images on this site © Dina Marie. All rights reserved. No reproductions permitted.