I've always loved paper dolls.  This is my not-so-traditional version.  She has been dressed in my hand-painted papers.  Her necklace and earrings are made beads and her hair is yarn. She has been further embellished with fabric paint and glitter!

...to win a "FREE" Cancer  Canvas Card  for donations for their cancer care or for a  Cancer Canvas Journal.  Deadline for nominees: August 31st.  Winner announced on September 2nd.

What is a Canvas Card?  A canvas card is a painting done on a canvas that has areas on it that have been allotted for signatures of friends, family and well-wishers.  You sign it like you'd sign a greeting card.  With every signature comes a donation for the subject of the canvas to assist with whatever donations are being requested for.  Example:  Medical expenses, funerary expenses, travel fees, college expenses, graduation party/expenses, etc.  Once all signatures have been acquired, the finished art piece will be gifted to the subject of the card as a reminder of all who were supportive during their time of need or celebration. 

What is a Canvas Journal?
A Canvas Journal is a canvas that has been painted of a particular subject that is partially complete.  The subject's image is completed but areas of the canvas have been left unfinished so that the recipient can complete it at their leisure.  You add your own special touch to this work of art!  This comes complete with all the supplies necessary to make additions to the artwork.  A Canvas Journal is a great gift for someone who's bedridden for a period of time or frequents medical facilities where they have periodic extended stays and would like something to do while they are receiving treatment.  This also applies to caregivers who accompany others to their office visits.

Nominate someone today!
It doesn't have to be a young child...we're all children of GOD.

Why am I doing these canvases?

Three reasons:

1) I've been led to by a God who told me there is purpose in my art.  I am here to be a blessing and my talent is not for me alone.

2) My sister expressed an interest in creating something, anything, back in 2005 when she was basically bedridden because of her cancer.  She had to stop working months earlier and wanted to feel as though her life still had some value.  I was in school at the time so we had to schedule a date.  We missed that scheduled date because she'd been admitted into hospice.  We never had that opportunity again; she transcended in February of 2006. 

I truly believe that art heals the soul and found it astounding that after years of watching me piddle around with every art medium I could play with, she had realized the therapeutic value of creating and how much it adds to your life. 

3)  My sister was my muse and would pose for me for whatever artistic whim I'd chanced upon.  During one portrait I'd painted of her, she made her hand's impression on it- all across the background.  Her hand impression was her own- can never be duplicated, there was only one her.  She left her mark on that canvas.  I cannot begin to tell you the value of that painting to me, especially now.