Reflections by Sammy Way: Blue Sky used talent to help beautify our community

Reflections revisits Warren Edward Johnson, known today as Blue Sky, born Sept. 18, 1938, in Columbia, South Carolina. He received national attention for his artistic ability by winning a poster competition while a student at Dreher High School. The data and photos used to prepare this paper were taken from The Item archives and a personal interview conducted by Martha Greenway for the Sumter County Cultural Commission with Mr. Johnson.

He worked as a jet aircraft technician while serving in the Air National Guard for six years. He worked numerous jobs while attending the University of South Carolina including "a parade float builder, a layout artist, and a dance instructor, among others." While in college he received instruction from Ed Yaghjian, the successful Ash Can painter. He was able to sell some of his works at student auctions held at McMaster College, later being judged "best of show" at the 1964 Spring Mills Show which held over 700 participants by Henry Geldzahler, the curator of the Metropolitan Museum. Blue Sky was invited to study at the Art Students League of New York, which he did for a year.

He returned to Columbia in 1966 where he was employed as a conceptual artist for Wilbur Smith & Associates prior to enrolling in the USC Graduate School in 1970. In 1974, Warren Johnson made Blue Sky his legal name and was later accorded the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina's highest civilian award, in 2000. The award was given for his contributions to the arts, primarily for painting the first large-scale public mural in 1975.

Blue Sky, like many artists, often depended entirely on the sale of his art to cover living expenses. A large number of his public projects remain self-funded. He and his wife, Lynn Sky, opened the Blue-Sky Gallery in Columbia's Five Points in 1981 where he sold his original artwork beginning in 1989.

He became interested in painting murals on walls in 1975. That year saw him produce perhaps his most memorable work, "Tunnelvision." His design for the project was not readily accepted, however; he persevered, finally gaining approval from the South Carolina Arts Commission. The work was completed on the wall of the AgFirst Farm Credit Bank located in Columbia and has been repainted five times since, each time with some modification.

BLUE SKY PAINTS IN SUMTER

In March of 1980 while exhibiting some of his artwork, a sudden snowstorm proved providential to the Sumter community. Unable to return to Columbia, Blue Sky was given a tour of the city when he happened upon a wall of the then Gilbert Ross package store and immediately declared this to be the "most beautiful wall in Sumter." Martha Greenway, representing the Cultural Commission, sponsored the project costing $3,000, expressed appreciation for the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Promotion Council and the Downtown Sumter Improvement Association for their support of the undertaking.

Blue Sky referred to his style of work as "drive-in art" and also stated that he had used a variety of mediums to express his creativity. The work he chose for Sumter was a mural titled "Winter Beach" intended to give those who passed by the feeling of "walking or driving on the beach." He stated a preference for working with "big brushes and gallons of paint" and intended to begin painting in Sumter in July of 1980. He estimated the project would require three to five weeks to complete.

The completed work was unveiled at sunset and featured fireworks and dancers.