There are few things in life Jeff Johnson enjoys more than handing a sketch that he’s just completed to someone.

Johnson, of Albert Lea, said he used to draw a lot as a kid, but as his life got busy, he put it aside.

About six months ago, he started drawing again in earnest.

“I had time on my hands,” he said.

Johnson isn’t one to sit idle, but he does find drawing to be very relaxing.

“I’m an impatient person,” Johnson admitted. “My wife likes it when I draw, because I sit still.”

Johnson starts with a snapshot of someone and sketches what he sees on a piece of paper.

“The eyes are last,” he said. “They’re what say it all. Eyes make a picture work. They fill it out.

“Everybody’s eyes are different,” Johnson added.

He said children are his favorite subjects to draw.

Each drawing takes a couple of hours, Johnson said, adding he works with the television noise in the background. Sometimes he wakes up early and will do some sketching at 4 a.m. before going to work for the Albert Lea utilities department.

Johnson recently completed some sketches of Margie Kirchner’s grandchildren and she was delighted.

“These are absolutely fantastic,” Kirchner said. “He handed these to me and that’s when I found I how good he is.”

Johnson’s work can be found in Art on Broadway, the gift shop at the Albert Lea Art Center. He will do portraits on request for $20. Call him at 402-4515 to learn more.

“Sometimes I have nothing to do, then all of the sudden I have four to do,” Johnson said of the art he does.

He hopes to have a show at the Albert Lea Art Center in the near future, he added. He has about 90 sketches on hand.

Johnson and his wife, Rhonda, have two sons, Brandon and Bo. One of his sons enjoys drawing cars.

“But he said he can’t do faces,” Johnson said.