Born and raised on Oahu and living most of his post-university life on the Big Island of Hawaii, he is known for his impressionistic paintings and murals of Hawaiiana.
[10] Johnsen also created murals commissioned by a number of resorts, restaurants, public buildings, and cruise ships throughout the Hawaiian islands.
[16][7] In 2013 he was exhibited at the Andrew Rose Gallery in Honolulu, among eleven artists collectively considered the "leading landscape painters from the Islands".
[19][20] The museum and cultural center published a book of the exhibited works, entitled Paintings of the Red Road by Arthur Johnsen.
[4][5][28] It depicts Pele with a serene, compassionate expression and two objects in her hands representing important stories connected with her, against a background of volcanic activity.
[3] The portrayal depicts Pele striding through the lava flow in the forest with her digging staff Pã'oa,[29] which she used for excavating while searching for a home that she finally found at Halemaʻumaʻu, in her left hand.
[4] He added that his proximity to the steady active lava flows made him "feel closely connected [to Pele] on a very personal level".
[4] In 2005, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park finished refurbishing its Visitor Center, and replaced the Hitchcock painting with Johnsen's The Goddess Pele.