Art and music have played an influential role in Johnson’s life since early childhood. She recalls falling asleep at night looking at an oil painting by Chide Hassam while she listened to her mother play Chopin. She was a soloist for The Savoy Company and there began designing sets, scenery and lighting. When she retired from the Academy of Music she began to paint, first in oil and then in watercolor. Her painting was put on hold after a car accident damaged her left hand and head, giving her severe headaches, double vision and loss of depth perception. Only months after being released from the Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital with improvements in her vision, Johnson was in another car accident. Despite spinal damage, a torn hip labrum and other injuries, Johnson continues to paint. She says, “the sheer joy of painting helps me to not feel pain, and my desire to continue sharing this world's beauty with others drives me to keep trying and keep painting