When an artist is in the process of painting, they never truly know how important that piece is going to become in their life. When I am navigating through my process, the focus is on sharing my journey, my growth, my inspirations, and accessing my intuition.
This week the focus behind my paintings was "overcoming". I was immersed in a creative frenzy, painting almost non-stop for three days. Each night my husband urged me to go to bed at a decent hour, but the palette kept my attention until 3am each morning.
One of the paintings from this run was of a horse totem, named "Run Fast, Run Hard". There was movement in the strokes and a portrayal of speed, as the painting is motivating you to move fast and work hard toward your dreams.
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| Run Fast, Run Hard a Contemporary Folk Art Painting by Jeanne Fry |
Occasionally over those three days I would post a few photos of what I had been painting on our Facebook art page. As soon as I would share the photos I would go back to painting. My cell phone alerted me of a private message through Facebook, with an inquiry of interest about the painting.
As soon as I started reading the message from my phone, I was engaged in a story, and knew that I needed to sign into the computer and give it more focus.
A mother in California was interested in purchasing the painting for her 9 year old daughter. As she shared with me the reason that she wanted it, my heart moved to another place....a place in my own past.
Her daughter Ashley has a rare disease that she is battling, Pediatric Sarcoidosis. A lump in my throat started forming as I felt the link with my own Lupus, as both attack random organs in the body. She told me how strong Ashley is and how she loves to paint. She has been loving horses as of late, and since her mom can't give her an actual horse, she wanted to give her my painting.
She included a link to the fundraising site they have set up for Ashley to help cover her medical bills so that I could learn a little more about her. When I opened the link, the tears started falling. When I looked into her eyes, I saw my own when I was little. My mind raced back to when I myself was so young, when at the age of 4 I was in the hospital and became an amputee.
During my hospital stay I had been given a gift by a stranger. The man had stopped me in the hall and had given me a painting of Faith, Hope, & Charity. I never saw the man again, but I still have that painting to this day.
I knew that this painting had to be a gift to Ashley, of that there was no question. The gift that I had received had changed my life, teaching me that love and compassion exist in unexpected places. My hope is that Ashley will feel that too, and always be surrounded by love and support.
This trip back in time, flood of emotions, and decision making all happened in just a few minutes. I soon looked up with the tears welled in my eyes and showed my husband Ashley's link. As soon as he saw it, he said "She looks just like you when you were little", and he himself was fighting back the tears.
I'm sharing her link here, in the case that you might want to donate to her cause, and should you choose to you are not only helping her and her mom, but my own inner child spirit as well.
I am grateful for this moment in my life as an artist, as it has been one of the most meaningful exchanges I have ever experienced.
In Love and Light,
Jeanne
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