Gladys Johnston facts for kids
Gladys Johnston (born Foster; 1906–1983) was a Canadian artist. She was famous for her landscape paintings. Gladys taught herself how to paint. She also wrote books about local history and her travels. Gladys lived most of her life in British Columbia. She lived in Salmon Arm from 1944 until she passed away in 1983. Her art was shown in big exhibitions in 1988 and 2007.
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Her Early Life and Family
Gladys Foster was born in Birch Hills, Saskatchewan in 1906. She showed a talent for art when she was very young. As a child, she often drew the horses on her family's dairy farm. Her family encouraged her artistic skills. She also studied piano and writing.
In 1925, Gladys took a short painting course. This was at the University of Saskatchewan. She married Ernest Johnston in 1926. They had three sons together. Ernest also painted. He learned from Charles Russell in Montana before they married. Gladys's early paintings were signed Gladys Foster. Her style was different from her husband's.
Life on the Homestead
Gladys Johnston was very hardworking. She and her husband lived on a homestead. This meant they built their own home and farmed the land. She raised her three sons and managed the household. She also helped with trapping, building log cabins, and gardening.
Gladys used her paintings to help earn money for her family. She also wrote stories and read tea leaves. Her art was not seen as special fine art at the time. It was a way for her to express herself. It also helped her support her family.
Her Artistic Style and Subjects
Gladys Johnston's paintings showed the places she lived. She painted scenes from British Columbia. She also painted exciting adventure scenes. These included a man in a canoe meeting a bear. Another showed a man falling from a horse. She also painted nature and homesteading scenes.
Gladys kept many scrapbooks and diaries. Her scrapbooks had sketches. They also had pages from popular magazines. Her diaries recorded things she saw while traveling. They also listed her daily chores. She wrote in a clear but often poetic way.
Using Color in Her Art
Gladys Johnston used bright, strong colors in her paintings. She used a full range of colors. She added touches of black and soft neutral colors. These helped to balance the bright hues. She often used purple in her skies and mountains.
The way she showed space in her paintings was unique. It was less important than the story she was telling. She used thin layers of paint. Next to these, she put thick brushstrokes to outline figures.
Gladys Johnston passed away in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, in 1983.
