I’m an artist. At 64 years old, I have more life behind me than what lies ahead, but what a future it is! Or as my girlfriend put it, “You were just living your life, minding your own business, when ________ happened.” After you read my story, I’ll let you fill in the blank.
I’m a born writer who in 2016 was hospitalized with Granulomatosis with Polyiingitis, a rare incurable disease that left me living with chronic pain, hearing loss, unable to walk without a cane, and unable to write. After 28 days in the hospital, my doctors sent me home to set my house in order and to prepare my will, because death was imminent. Except, I don’t know how to die, so I didn’t. Instead, each night after I’d “laid myself down to sleep” I’d wake up in the morning feeling a little better. Until one day I woke up found a canvas in the closet and decided to paint. I hadn’t done that before.
My first painting was an abstract of freewheeling brushstrokes of bright colors that I made mostly to watch the paint dry. But because I only had one canvas, I would have to paint it black, to erase it so to speak, so that I could paint a new abstract over it, and watch that dry. And here’s the thing: I never got bored because when you’re told that you don’t have much time, you become content with the time you’ve got. By painting every day, I was able to take my mind off the pain and stress of living with my disease. So, I kept painting abstracts on that one canvas, over and over and over again.
Time passed, then on the second birthday of living with my illness, I discovered birthday wishes can and do, sometimes, come true when I received a gift of paints, blank canvases, and paint brushes. My work evolved and I started to paint everyday people doing everyday things and smiling. I called them SOL (smiling out loud) paintings. The narrative art allowed me to paint the stories that I could no longer write.
Last year, I won the Faye Chandler Emerging Artist Award in Boston. That same year, I was the recipient of a Mass Cultural Council Grant. This year, I was awarded a visual art residency at MassMOCA, where I spent a month with amazingly talented artists! I’ve had four solo art exhibitions, from Piano Craft Gallery to Boston City Hall. My art journey has included 28 group exhibitions around the country, art sales abroad, artist panel talks, and artist interviews. I’ve had two solo billboard exhibits, one digital. And my art has been featured in solo galleries on two television shows, Naomi created by Ava DuVernay and NBC’s Found created by Nkechi Okoro-Carroll and starring Shanola Hampton.
I wasn’t born to make art. I’m untrained, haven’t attended art classes, and I don’t have an art education or any college degrees. Yet here I am, my ordinary life has led to an extraordinary art journey that’s interrupted twice a year by hospital stays, medical procedures, and infusions that are life-sustaining. These interruptions are followed by five weeks of hibernation because my medicine compromises my autoimmune system and I can’t be around the everyday people that I paint.
Much of my success has been through social media where I first posted a picture of my paintings on Facebook. A friend encouraged me to also post my work on Instagram, a site that I hadn’t fully utilized. From there, I added my work to a webpage. I soon discovered that the real goal is to get eyes on the work, because art is society’s empathy. In a digital world that’s spinning incredibly fast, we need the compassion and empathy that art inspires.
Since 2020, I’ve made some 260 paintings, the largest of which is 6’ x 4’. And if I’m making it look easy, it’s so little girls who look like me, born without a blueprint, might try to fill in the blanks and live life their lives extraordinarily. So, how can you let art find you?
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Thank you for sharing your extraordinary testimony. Congratulations on discovering your freedom in the mist of your trials.
Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
Wow, talk about inspiring! Thanks for sharing this motivation account of your journey. I am 59 (60 in 2 months), and a year shy of retirement, however, I am retirement ready and if I could would do it today. However, realistically and financially, my husband and I “ain’t got it like that”, so I may have to work a few additional years. However, my days are in retirement fantasy land more than working and currently I am out on medical leave and will return to work in the next 2 weeks. I have visions of my next chapter as I am vibrant and creative and would like to offer some of my experiences to the world.
You have encouraged me to stay motivated and think outside of the box. God gives us what we need when we need it and you were it for me today. Continue to shine your light because it is a blessing. I pray for your continued strength and resilience.
Take Care.
This article was …..wow! Your purpose and the amount of pieces you have created is remarkable. Thanks for sharing this story.