Glenda Johnson

My family is deeply rooted in Saskatchewan. My parents were childhood sweethearts and soon after my father graduated from the U of S, Alberta was calling. With his newly appointed electrical engineering degree in one hand, paint brush in the other, he soon found a passion for landscape oil painting. Always an engineer, my father said I needed to paint more in the daytime because my paintings were too dark and he also said I didn’t use enough paint. My mother was a creative influence as well. She taught me what a pop of colour could do to an outfit or room and choosing the wrong color of shoes will harm you for life.

After my initial diagnosis, I didn’t realize how therapeutic a paintbrush was going to be for me. 2025 was my personal tsunami year; I fell in the kitchen and crushed my kneecap, had knee surgery, christened 8 weeks/two rounds of full leg casts, sold our home of 18 years in one day, moved there times and my husband and main care giver of 33 years, passed away unexpectedly in September. And yes, I still have Parkinson’s.

I have christened 2026 as “the year I got back in the water”. One of my mantras will be “Paws up, paddles in, every day is a new day on the river.”