What is reality, the things we perceive?
And what if it changes, do we still believe?

We think it is real, not always correct.
It’s often surreal, and not so direct.

Dreams and visions, they may seem bizarre.
But they’re just missions, for who we are.

An absolute fallacy, is what we receive.
It’s just a formality, for what we believe.

So what is reality, the way we insist?
Or just an analogy, for the way we exist.

Lee Johnstone, March 2023

ABOUT THE ARTIST

I was born in Matlock, Derbyshire in 1972 and lived in Bakewell until 1991 when I decided to chase the bright lights of Sheffield. As a child I was always admired at school and home for my artwork. I loved to draw strange scenes of ghosts, graveyards and eerie landscapes with dramatic skies. This diminished more into my teens until I dropped out of academia and went to college to do a two-year course in design which rekindled my desire for drawing, painting and photography. 

Whilst at college I was offered a job in graphic design and have done this since 1990 in various places. More years passed and I went back into academia part-time and completed a seven year science degree in Natural and Human Environments in 2017.

I have lived in Sheffield since 1991 and for the most part with my wife, Jayne in the delightful urban village of Walkley where I am also heavily involved with several community groups regarding community activities, art and conservation. It is here where I love allotment gardening, the local environment, nature and where I do my artwork. I have been a graphic designer since 1990 and been working in this role at the University of Sheffield since 2004.

I never touched a paintbrush again for over 30 years when in 2022 it was obvious that my mental health was suffering and I started painting as part of art therapy. It didn’t prevent the episodes of ‘Black December 2022’ but it did save me afterwards. In 2022 I rekindled my passion for creating my own artwork instead of that for the University and everyone else. I have not stopped since.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

In 2022 I re-started creating strange scenes, surrealism and dreamscapes, combining my passions of art, nature and travel. Some earlier work is ‘from the heart’ with much of this period reflecting on my emotions and difficulties at the time. I tried all sorts of media and topics like wildlife and landscapes but I just could not copy my own photos and soon went back to creating in my own way.

I ‘invented’ the term Disconnected Reality in 2023 for the work that I was doing and wanted to do. It is simply looking through 1000s of travel photos for reference and inspiration and changing it. Thus reality becomes disconnected – it was real but no longer is so. If the inspiration is from a dream – it was real but it isn’t anymore.

Recently I found that although I enjoy painting dreams and surreal landscapes, it takes me too long. As a graphic designer I have decided to use my existing skills with digital artwork to create what I really want and with full control. I still use my own reference material from 1000s of my images, but combine, merge and alter them to create something new, combined with drawing on a digital tablet.

For my digital artwork I sometimes ‘train’ AI on my images to add a little more excitement but essentially it is still my reality… disconnected by me. I have gone back to my childhood roots and where I re-started three years ago… with a difference.