Cornerback Isaiah Johnson is simultaneously chasing artistic, athletic dreams

Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Isaiah Johnson’s chest and arms are filled with tattoos of his own making, and the design of each piece has a specific meaning. The two on his chest were the first and most significant.

In 2005, when Johnson was 5, his sister Asheley was killed in a car accident coming home from college. She was 21 years old. Right above his heart, Johnson tattooed “MMV,” the roman numeral for 2005, below a crown and surrounded by angel wings to honor his late sister.

Asheley was the oldest of seven siblings and Johnson was the youngest. Their mother, Lynn, said the pair were closest because of the age gap. Although he was just 5 when she passed away, Johnson said he always wanted to remember her.

On his right pectoral, Johnson has “2 Lives” tattooed for his cousin, Desmond Duncan, who was imprisoned years ago and is “like a little brother” to Johnson. It was both of their dreams to become NFL players, so Johnson said he feels like he’s been living for both of them ever since Duncan’s imprisonment.

“It’s kind of my pride to be able to put my art on my skin and have it last forever,” Johnson said.

From a young age, Johnson’s father, Gerald, said he and Lynn noticed their son’s artistic skill. His “provocative” thoughts and abilities drew him to different styles, Lynn said, as he transitioned from line drawing to digital painting. Johnson became an award-winning artist at Detroit Country Day School, and his NFL dream is now accompanied by an artistic one.

After moving back to the United States from Switzerland, where his family lived from 2005-10, Johnson was homeschooled by Lynn for a few years before high school. Yet, she sent all her children to separate art classes to foster that skill. When it was time to decide on a high school, Johnson chose Detroit Country Day because of its Art Conservatorship program.

Johnson drew three portraits that were displayed in the Detroit Institute of Arts for over a year. One was of his dad and the others were of his best friends, Demetriess Debow and Kolin Demens. He won a “gold key” for two of the portraits and was honored with a gala and display in the museum.

The portrait of Gerald is still Johnson’s favorite piece because he captured the “age and wisdom” that he sees in his father, Johnson said.

Isaiah Johnson’s portrait of his father Gerald. The drawing was one of three of Johnson’s pieces to be featured at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Photograph courtesy of Lynn Johnson.

“He does it because it keeps him calm and gives him an outlet that’s very different from what he focuses on the rest of the day, whether it’s school or football,” Gerald said.

Lynn said Johnson wasn’t particularly interested in art as a young kid. But, his older brother, Jeremiah, carefully took him through the drawing process. Jeremiah is now a script writer and director in Hollywood, CA.

“I would always see him drawing cartoons and he used to tell us bedtime stories,” Johnson said of Jeremiah. “It was my brother, Jeremiah, who really showed me the first way to just let your creative juices flow.”

When Johnson was little, he exclusively drew football players. He started with portraits of athletes he grew up idolizing, like Deion Sanders and Barry Sanders.

As he got older, Johnson transitioned to drawing people in his life. He also drew pictures of himself playing football which still hang in the Johnson house today. While at Dartmouth, Johnson drew himself in different jerseys to represent the progression of his football journey.

“I still love drawing football players because I still love football,” Johnson said. “To be honest, when it comes to football, I’m still just the same little kid I was when I drew them. But now, I really like action shots. So I’ve transitioned from doing more portraits to full body action shots, showing motion and doing more dynamic things.”

In college, Johnson was immersed in the world of comics and Manga, a type of anime. After years of line drawing, Johnson got an iPad and started painting digitally with his Apple Pencil. He drew his favorite heroes, like Spiderman and Batman, while also creating original anime characters.

These passions have been inked onto his skin, showing the development of his mind and artistry — he only trusts one tattoo artist back home in Brighton, Michigan.

On his right deltoid, Johnson designed a tattoo to represent his Black identity. He illustrated royal African ancestors — a queen, a warrior and a lion — to honor the sovereignty that built African nations, not just the hardships many endured during slavery. He did it to remind himself that “being Black is beautiful,” Lynn said.

Isaiah Johnson creates many digital paintings along with his hand-written work. Photograph courtesy of Isaiah Johnson.

“It’s very important to him that all of his art, even on his body, is original,” Lynn said.

Right next to the “2 Lives” tattoo on his right pectoral, Johnson etched an authentic anime character. Another one of his anime tattoos honors his older brother Chyle, who got him into Manga, residing on his right arm.

Johnson has added to his sleeves on both arms throughout college, planning to get a few more before he’s done. He’s preparing to get a “Johnson” tattoo across the top of his back to carry his family with him, just like the two on his chest.

Johnson has always tried to keep his art private. It’s for himself, not for prying eyes or awards. Yet, once people find out he’s an artist, they start asking for things, unaware of the time and dedication his work takes.

He often makes pieces for people he’s close with because there’s a “sense of pride” he feels when creating artwork for others, Johnson said. He hopes to build on that professionally.

One of Johnson’s life goals is to illustrate his own comic book or Manga. His dream of making the NFL is still at the forefront, which could grant him the platform to create and market his work. Johnson wants his athletic and artistic dreams to work in tandem with each other, not against each other.

“That’s going to be big,” Johnson said of his future project. “I’ll probably do it after I make the league and get myself established, so I’ll probably start working on that and setting aside time to pursue that dream.”