Past Exhibits
Beth Johnson
“Familiar Grace/Shared Space”
June 13th – August 8th, 2004
“I was a child of the Great Depression and WWII. I attended three high schools in three cities. I didn’t live in one place or go to the same school for two consecutive years until I entered Reed College. In the spring of 1952 I needed a full time job and had to interrupt my schooling to pay bills. My drawing and painting continued as part of my private life.
I attended try-outs for a play, got a part and met a remarkable fellow who wanted to start a touring theater. We became friends, started dating, then courting, and were married in the summer of “54”. The touring theater lasted three years, the marriage has lasted 50.
In 1961 we adopted the first of our four children. I worked at home to finish a series of illustrations for children’s workbooks. I also worked part time as a printer, modeled at the Art Museum school (now PNCA) and took evening and summer classes.
We found our present home in NE Portland the fall of 1971. I received my B.A.degree from Marylhurst in 1974, twenty years after I had originally planned. I worked as a free lance Graphic Artist, was a partner in a gallery and picture framing shop and, in 1977, went to work at the Oregon Health Science University as a Graphic Artist.
The year I turned 65 a friend told me about the Senior Citizen program at Portland State University. Senior citizens could audit classes tuition free on a space available basis. This was the impetus I needed to get back to my painting. Home and family needs clamor for my attention. But I realize that this is a necessary next step in my growth as a painter. I am pleased and honored to be able to show my work at the Golden Gallery.”
