FREAK OF THE WEEK
Photography by: Dane Singleton
Finding time to catch up with our next Freak proved nearly impossible. An incredibly talented artist who is a key contributor to the local creative landscape, he juggles family commitments and three businesses and is nothing short of a superhero. We decided the best way to catch him was in action. Hard at work in the local Holiday Haven’s ( Caravan Park ) playground, elbows deep in paint tins and spray cans with bark chips stuck to his socks, painting like it was his last day on Earth… Lincoln Johns.
As an artist living and working in a regional town it’s not easy to make ends meet by focusing on one thing. The key is to diversify which is exactly what Lincoln has done with his talents. Not only is he famous for his eye-catching murals scattered around the area, but Lincoln has established a successful art school, Linx Art Lab, which ranges from kids after-school classes and holiday workshops to adult classes and Sip ‘n’ Paint events. Aside from his creative practice Lincoln also runs his own NDIS support business for kids.
It was a windy day at Burrill Lake and Lincoln was on a time-sensitive deadline. With rain threatening in the days to come he needed to finish his masterpiece. Having us front up with a bunch of questions was probably not on his list of priorities. However, when we arrived we were greeted with the biggest smile and arms open in welcome, ready to share what precious time he had with us.
Seeking shelter from the wind we huddled into the maintenance shed surrounded by mowers, surfboards and brooms to find out a little more about this paint gun, trigger happy guru.
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It must be an amazing feeling to see such a primal dream come to life. Our dreams evolve over time and are shaped by our experiences and I know you have had many in your life so far. I saw in August, on one of your social media posts, that you once considered joining the military.
Yeah I did… At the time I was going through a bit of trouble. I needed to focus, to have a sense of direction and I knew there were benefits to joining. I was drawn in by the training, both physical and disciplinary. I was really into fitness at the time so it seemed like a good idea. I was a different animal back then and I was trying to find my thing and I thought that was going to be it. The hold up was that the military don’t allow hand tattoos and my fingers were covered in them. It’s not an easy process to get rid of them and I spent six months trying to get these tattoos removed with laser treatment to qualify. But it was at this time I fell in love and my heart changed, I no longer wanted to leave.
I do love this place and to have a reason to stay got me back on the tools, working whatever job or trade came my way. It was during that waiting period that I picked up a pencil and started drawing again. It had been years... since high school even, and that’s when I found my love for it again. I haven’t always done art. After school, it kinda dropped out of my life.
It’s funny how the universe provides for you in ways you don't realise.
Yeah fully, it’s like it’s all lined up for you. At the time you can’t see it, nothing seems to make sense and then boom… it’s just how it works hey! I needed that to happen for me because I was so lost and without purpose. I don’t think I would have stuck with the military and I don’t feel I was ever supposed to work for anyone else either. I was always meant to be my own entity, that's why I have always struggled with the 9 - 5. If there is one thing I am proud of it’s that I have managed to make what I love into a business. Not straight away… I had to pull apart what I love and flip it.
How so?
By redirecting my energy and enthusiasm into other people… like with my teaching. Instead of bettering myself, I tried to better others. By making others realise they had potential something clicked [inside of me] and I was like, this is actually working! I had no preconceived idea of how to teach, still don’t… I didn't go to Uni, I don’t have a diploma, I have never studied art in my life or received first place in anything. I just started teaching people to think how I think. Through this process, I essentially built my own teaching method and it started proving itself.
I started with one student five years ago after a business I started failed. I had a shop in Rowans Arcade in Ulladulla selling pop culture collectables and I decided to teach others how to draw the collectables in the shop to try and make ends meet. Six months went past and the whole thing died. I lost a lot of money. It was a recipe for disaster and I wanted out. Anyway, that's a whole story in itself, but that one student turned into five, then it was ten and when the business failed I still had these students. So, I closed the business and it closed me. I was so fizzled out after such a stressful chapter but I had all these parents asking me if I was going to keep teaching. I was exhausted and I really didn't feel like I was up to it. So I went back on the tools and took on managerial roles and through that period of learning how to deal with other people and running other businesses I came back sharper. Then COVID came and I lost my job.
I had pretty much said goodbye to art at that stage and goodbye to teaching. I still had great memories but I never thought it would come back… but it did. It hit me like a wave. I went for two weeks without a job and I can't sit still, so I was scratching and scratching. I pulled out a blank skateboard and bought some Poscas [paint pens] because I was bored. I just started drawing some stuff on the bottom of this skateboard and I was like man, I miss this! Then memories started coming up about the kids I taught and I found some of their drawings and I realised maybe I should dial into what I really love.
I had moved back to Mum and Dads. Everything had collapsed under me real quick and felt it was my only option and I wouldn’t have to outlay a lot of money. What I needed was all up here in my mind… all I needed was to get some paper and pencils. The other critical part of the equation was Gayle from the Dunn Lewis Centre in Ulladulla. She has backed me ever since the teaching thing came to fruition. After I lost the shop and decided to get back on the horse, I needed somewhere to teach the kids and Gayle took me in. She said take a room, do whatever you need
to do. She has been incredible.
I spent three months building my website and reunited with a friend of mine who was a graphic designer and was really excited to help me out. I already had my logo for both businesses [LinxArt and Linx Art Lab] in my head when he popped out of nowhere at the perfect time. It all just went from there.
The Deadly South: Hi Lincoln, thanks so much for taking the time to share your epic journey with us. This tool shed seems an oddly appropriate setting for a creative such as yourself and judging by your body language you seem quite at home surrounded by a shed full of tools!
Lincoln Johns: *laughs … yeah absolutely. Feeling very at home. I am only young, but I have done many things. I have been an electrician, a technician, maintenance manager, tuna fisherman, banker and that’s just the start of it. So yeah, you could say I know my way around
a shed!
Awesome, we will get into the nitty-gritty soon, but to start with we ask all our Freaks the same question to get them into the zone of interrogation. Where is your go-to spot in Ulladulla? If you need some time to get away and clear your head, where is your
happy place?
My studio for sure, everything about me is there. When I am creating art - that is my escape. So technically when I am surrounded by everything that I love to do… that's me! When people go to the beach or to the park - it’s the same as that. Don’t get me wrong, I love those things too, but honestly, I think I am most happy when I am being me… and I am 100% me when I am in my studio.
From what I can gather from your social media it looks like the studio is a fairly new thing?
I have always had a small studio here and there, but the one I am building this year is from the ground up. It’s hopefully going to be my baby for the next five years. Although it’s not huge, 100% of the space is being utilised and set up for what I want to do, which is all kinds of crazy stuff. This has been a dream of mine for ages.
So which business is which?
I have Linx Art Lab which is the school. That’s where I run the Sip ‘n’ Paint events, the kids holiday workshops and weekly classes. Everything I’m contracted to do for others, like the murals, is my own work and comes under my Linx Art artist tag. The businesses are separate but complement each other.
In a way, it’s good to keep them separate. We have touched on this before but although the teaching is fantastic and I am sure it's really rewarding, it’s not necessarily what fuels that spark within you. It's so hard to try and find something sustainable to fuel that spark.
Definitely!! It is probably the biggest hurdle that I have to try and get over. To try and not let my art turn into feeling like work because that's what it's becoming for me. Right now I am where I wanted to be, but I don’t feel how I envisioned I was going to feel. I have my dream, and I visualised it, but it’s through the process of working towards it that I’ve started to figure shit out.
My frustration now is that I feel that I haven't even started to express myself or achieve what I know I am capable of. I have a lot to come and it's all going to be churned out of this little studio. I have spent so much time teaching others lately and I haven't spent enough time bettering myself and doing my own work. So, I started to rebel a little bit because I’m starting to feel exhausted again because I am putting all my energy into other people. It’s given me a whole new respect for teachers, they do this all the time plus they have to do all
the marking.
What I do have pride in is that the kids I am teaching get to draw what they want, I am helping them achieve their goals. They aren’t all sitting around drawing a bowl of fruit for example… they are all working on something they want to be drawing. I think that makes all the difference. The core goal of my business is that I am trying to be the person that I didn’t have around me when I was growing up needing direction, I felt alone.
I guess that is why you are so successful because you are offering a point of difference.
Yes, if you were to break it down and really analyse it, I am offering mentorship. If you asked me what is the reason I am doing it - I am doing it because I want to raise these kids confidence and I want them to feel that they are achieving something. I want them to feel good about themselves and I want them to socialise with other like-minded kids. When I was growing up in my teens I was a freak in my mind because I was going home every day to draw. I wasn't hanging out with friends, I was locked in my room drawing superheroes and my parents were like… what’s wrong with this kid?! Do you know what I mean? It was a really lonely thing because all I ever wanted was a friend. All I wanted was to go to a drawing club. There was a chess club, football club but not drawing. I wouldn’t even talk about art at school, it wasn't cool.
In Ulladulla, there is a big surfing culture and it’s easy to feel left out unless you’re a part of that.
100%... I used to love surfing because my mates got me into it, but it was never my passion. I’ve been teaching for nearly two years now but in less than a year I had 50 kids enrol in my after school class. My class goes for a minimum of two hours and some kids would stay for three! I thought it was incredible that kids were so up for it! After being at school all day still having the attention span for my classes was mind-blowing. Parents were questioning me asking if I was sure it wasn’t too long. I was like trust me, once they get in there they will be asking you if they can stay. Even within that time frame, I had kids rushing to finish. I keep a portfolio for every kid and hold all their drawings so they can continue to finish things in their own time. I like to teach the kids how to work on a portfolio early on in life so they can show their artistic journey and great things have come from that. One of the kids I taught when I first started is now in Canberra at University studying game concept art. Another young girl who I’ve taught for about seven years is now in Sydney doing body painting, make-up and special effects. It’s so nice to hear from them and find out that I have been such an inspiration to them. That's what it’s all about for me.
It’s an interesting thought to ponder, what if I had someone like that in my life when I was growing up? I don't know where I would be now. Who knows how far I could have gone in the art world. I want that so bad for these up and coming artists. With technology getting crazier these days I am not just teaching them how to draw on paper, I also teach them how to use software on their iPads and drawing tablets. They’re all tools that these kids can use to become better artists.
Another part of my teaching that I love is that I teach kids with disabilities who are funded by the NDIS. Inclusion is super important and they are mingling with the mainstream kids and forming great friendships. My classes have become such a special social platform for these guys, not just art classes. The most rewarding part of this journey is being someone these kids can look up to. I don’t expect that from anyone, but when the kids are excited to see you in the schools or on the street it's such a warm feeling.
How do you have time for all the things you do? It seems you do the work of an army!
*laughs Yeah well, I actually struggle with sharing the load. I want to do it all and be everywhere at once but it's getting so busy and I know I will burn out if I keep going at this rate. I am looking at getting another teacher next year and it’s not an easy thing to execute. I have to make sure that the person is the right one, it's not just about the teaching, it’s so much more than that. You have to have patience and positivity, be able to listen... there are so many things that come before the art even starts.
It sounds like you are totally in your element at the moment and things are going really well. However, if you were to wake up tomorrow, COVID didn't exist, responsibilities didn’t exist, money was not an issue and you can do anything you want…
What would you do?
[Silence... still silence... a look of total loss... tick tick... a broom falls over] Ummmmmm geez I have no idea, that’s a really good question. The thing is, I honestly can’t imagine doing anything else other than what I am doing. I have to stay busy. That's just who I am and I love what I do. I guess there is a continuous drive within me to feel 100% myself and within that journey to try and figure out who I am. In saying that, it’s not an ungrateful or helpless feeling... it's just the truth behind everything I believe.
Would you say that your truth is that you are an artist?
To be called an artist has so many different values depending on who you are. Everyone has their own definition of it. To me being an artist is being a lone wolf. Although I have created this community and what I do I share with so many people, I still feel very much by myself. It’s hard to explain. However, when I do my murals… mate I am in my zone! If you want to see the authentic Lincoln, that guy out there painting a wall... that's him, that's me in my element. So if we went back to the question about what I would do if I had no responsibilities, that is what I would do. I would be behind that wall painting and then going for a swim and riding my electric skateboard. The magic about doing murals for me is that I am in control. Although I never paint the same thing twice and quite often I am painting something I have never painted before, I am always confident. If I can visualise it in my head I know I can do it.
So it seems quite clear that you have or are on your way to achieving what you set out to do.
What's next and where do you see yourself in 12 months?
Things change so quickly, it feels like they change every month for me. But if I was to set an ideal picture of what that looks like, I would say that the whole classroom model I have will be functioning on its own with a couple of teachers driving it. I would like to have a few people on board assisting with my NDIS clients. My studio will also be finished by this Christmas, so this time next year there is going to be some crazy stuff that I have done coming out of that. Think of it as a mini factory. I have skateboards and motorbike tanks that I want to paint on and create unique artworks out of… all sorts of plans. It will be a very authentic and dynamic space for my portfolio of work and where I want to be with my art. I am really longing to put my own work on display and not just for the benefit of others, I want to do it for me. Everything I am currently doing is for others which is great don't get me wrong, but I feel it’s time for me now. I want to work on a book that has all my personal works in it that I can sit back and reflect upon and share with others.
Is there anything else that you have to say about your journey?
I think... if I am going to live this life ...I am happy to not see the rest of the world. I am happy to stay here in this town, in Ulladulla, and make an impact on the people around me. By saying that I mean I want to help these kids. I don't want them growing up feeling the way I did emotionally. I want to be that person that I wish I had access to when I was growing up. I am not saying that in a way where I want to be a hero to everyone or anything. I just want my life to have a purpose. My family of course gives me purpose but I want to instil confidence in these kids as much as I do my own and help them with their art. Not only that though, but I also want to bring positivity to these kids and encourage them to be the best they can be. It’s like being in a band and you get that special gig... you don’t fuck around … you grab it and go out there and play the best set of your life. Even if only five people are watching, make it yours now and make it count!!
Freak of The Week is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.