At the age of 18, Courtney Johnson lost her vision after being diagnosed with a brain condition.
“I have a brain condition that acts as a fake brain tumor, so it puts too much pressure on my nerves,” she said. “I never expected to pick up a paintbrush or anything again.”
But her impaired vision is not stopping her from putting creativity into action.
With support from her family, including her two children, her husband and her seeing-eye dog, she managed to turn her love for art and colour into a full-time job.
“I figured 'I’m blind I can’t do art.' They said 'Why not? Go on YouTube, listen to some videos, try to find you something to give you that escape.'”
That advice was the beginning of a new journey as an artist that started three years ago.
People can find the mother of two on TikTok and Instagram at 'Beyond Seeing Artistry' where she posts videos of how she creates pieces of fluid art, some of which she sells online.
Courtney Johnson demonstrates an art technique on TikTok. (Source: Beyond Seeing Artistry / TikTok)
Her unique vision allows her to see some shapes and colours, but not everything is clear.
“Picture looking through a frosted window and say your partner is on the other side, you would know that’s a human because you’re talking to them. But for me, it’s all blurred.”
Johnson said her colour vision varies day to day. “I just use whatever colour vision that I have. There can be days where I wake up and I can’t see anything.”
To Johnson, art is not just something to see, it’s a feeling.
“For me, it’s the only thing that I can fully immerse myself in that melts away all the world noise, it takes away my pain, my trauma, my PSTD, and I can pour all of those emotions into the canvas.”
The 18-year-old gunman who killed 21 people at a Texas elementary school walked in unimpeded through an apparently unlocked door, a law enforcement official said Thursday. The gunman was apparently inside the building for at least three-quarters of an hour before U.S. Border Patrol agents stormed a classroom and killed him.
Multiple Toronto schools were in lockdown after a male was shot near an elementary school in Scarborough’s Port Union area on Thursday afternoon, first responders and an eyewitness said.
In the wake of a horrific mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has signalled that the Canadian government will be moving ahead on new gun-control measures 'in the coming weeks.' In previous Parliaments, the Liberals have made changes to Canada's gun laws, but in the 2021 federal election, Trudeau promised to go further.
There are now 26 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Canada, according to an update from the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the virus has been detected in a new province, with one case in Ontario.
Ray Liotta, the actor known for his roles in 'Field of Dreams' and the Martin Scorcese mob classic 'Goodfellas,' has died.
A massive Russian plane that was grounded at Toronto Pearson International Airport back in February is racking up a substantial parking bill.
By now it's as predictable as the calls for thoughts and prayers: A mass shooting leaves many dead, and wild conspiracy theories and misinformation about the carnage soon follow. Within hours of Tuesday's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, another rash began as internet users spread baseless claims about the man named as the gunman and his possible motives.
Health experts say that the monkeypox virus isn’t likely to have a similar impact to SARS-CoV-2, mainly because it isn’t a new virus and doesn’t spread the same way.
The number of job vacancies across Canada reached an all-time high in March, ending a five-month decline, Statistics Canada said Thursday.
The driver of a tractor trailer is facing multiple charges after the vehicle struck a concrete barrier on the Conestoga Parkway in Kitchener.
One of the men convicted for first-degree murder in the death of Shawn Yorke has been sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.
Wilfrid Laurier University has announced that it will be extending its mask mandate into June.
Windsor Regional Hospital is slowly chipping away at the backlog of non-urgent surgeries.
The Liberal candidate in Chatham-Kent-Leamington is withdrawing from the provincial election.
The Downtown Windsor Business Revitalization Association and the Downtown Windsor BIA announced a number of art projects for Phase I of their long-awaited “Art Alley”.
Police in Owen Sound are investigating after reports of a passenger in a car firing a gun at another vehicle as the two travelled through a residential area.
A transport truck driver faces charges after being stopped along Highway 400 south of Barrie following a concerned call to police.
Provincial police report laying more than 9,000 traffic charges during a six-day campaign.
Ontario Provincial Police have identified the two victims who drowned in the Montreal River on Tuesday morning after their boat capsized.
An impaired driver tried to cross the swing bridge in Little Current this week while it was closed for repairs, injuring one person who was working on the bridge.
Multiple Toronto schools were in lockdown after a male was shot near an elementary school in Scarborough’s Port Union area on Thursday afternoon, first responders and an eyewitness said.
Five days after a devastating storm hit Ottawa with wind gusts of 190 km/h, 43,000 homes and businesses remain without power.
Several Ottawa schools will remain closed for a fourth straight day on Friday as the cleanup continues following last weekend's powerful storm.
The public will hear from Ottawa's former police chief next week for the first time since he resigned at the height of the 'Freedom Convoy' occupation of downtown Ottawa.
Multiple Toronto schools were in lockdown after a male was shot near an elementary school in Scarborough’s Port Union area on Thursday afternoon, first responders and an eyewitness said.
A woman from Hamilton, Ont. is now a multimillionaire after she won the $60-million Lotto Max jackpot.
An Indigenous man living in what is assumed to be Toronto’s last “tiny shelter” in a downtown park says police have acted unfairly in their effort to remove and arrest him.
Quebec says it is ready to vaccinate people who have come into close contact with monkeypox as soon as Friday.
Montreal police were on site at John Rennie High School Thursday after threatening images were posted to social media, which may have featured a firearm, near the school.
Kahnawake says it will suspend all political engagement with the Quebec government until the province can provide a "substantive solution" on its controversial overhaul to the French language charter passed earlier this week.
A retired senior Mountie has described to an inquiry his dismay that it took five hours before anyone told him about eyewitnesses who had encountered a mass killer while fleeing the 2020 shootings in Nova Scotia.
Health officials in Nova Scotia are reporting a decrease in new deaths, cases and hospitalizations in the province's weekly COVID-19 update.
A series of weather fronts off a low-pressure system moving towards the St. Lawrence River Valley will cross the Maritimes Friday into Saturday, bringing periods of rain and a risk of thunderstorms.
The Manitoba government is planning to allow more private alcohol sales, including a pilot project that could involve grocery and convenience stores.
Winnipeg police say a man driving an SUV tried to grab a child off the street, and are now searching for information to identify him.
A man told court Thursday he was ready to accept punishment after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his three-year-old daughter.
The Alberta government has passed a new bill that will add a permanent 'honourable' title to all former, current and future cabinet ministers' names.
Fire officials and police are investigating the cause of a blaze in a mobile home park in southeast Calgary that resulted in the death of a senior.
A man who admitted to terrorism-related acts with the militant group Islamic State has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi has two weeks to provide a new plan to the province, after the justice minister accused him on Thursday of "not providing or maintaining adequate and effective policing services."
A 31-year-old man is dead after he crashed his SUV on Thursday morning.
A 40-year-old-man who was airlifted to hospital after he was shot by an RCMP officer in central Alberta has been charged in the incident.
One person is dead following an ammonia leak in a Kamloops, B.C., industrial park Thursday morning.
The number of COVID-19 patients in B.C. hospitals dropped below 500 this week for the first time since late April.
Staffing shortages and the workplace culture at a B.C. hospital were heavily criticized by two MLAs Thursday who say immediate action needs to be taken before the situation gets even worse.
