gg's functional art: The creation of “RED” ~ the woodpecker art project to bring HOPE.

For a long time, I’ve collected colorful photos of birds. My husband and I have shared a mutual interest in birds and photography since we first met. However over the years, we’ve experienced such busy, complicated lives since our son was born … like so many other interest, ‘birds watching and photography hobbies’ have fallen to the way side.

I have often longed to paint a collection of exotic birds … since I have so many friends and ‘art customers’ who are avid bird watchers as well as bird art collectors.

So as “HOPE” would have it, a few weeks ago, an image of a red-head headed woodpecker caught my attention from a Facebook post on a website name: “We Love Birds”.

For some reason, (perhaps God’s plan), I clicked on the little woodpecker icon and looked at that person’s photos. I saw dozens of beautiful images of all sorts of birds. My curiosity got the best of me and like so many other aspects of life… (some call me a bloodhound) … I needed to know more about the photographer behind these beautiful images.

I texted the person and requested permission to view her images and learned the photographer’s name was Annette. Upon a brief conversation, I learned we had several common interests. Additionally, I also learned that due to horrific car accident, my new photographer friend was suffering horrible pain, was bed ridden and these exquisite bird images were made from her bedroom window! Just as my art is my therapy to deal with my own personal challenges, Annette’s bird photography was helping her deal with life full of suffering.

Over the past few weeks, I have learned a lot about my new Facebook friend, which inspired me even more to find the time to paint from one of her photos.

To make a long story short … this little bird painting titled: “RED brings HOPE” became more than a therapeutic painting project.

This painting became the symbol for “HOPE” …

Hope that Annette will find the medical attention she needs to relieve her of the chronic pain she is enduring. Hope that she finds a place that helps know that others do care and love her just the way she is. Hope for a future. Hope for healing.