Sunday, October 25, 2009

Remembering Liza

Liza - Acrylics on an 8 x 10 Canvas Panel (c)Betty Refour 2009

One of the most influential people in my life was my maternal grandmother. While my mom encouraged academics she fueled my desire to be an artist. When mom bought books she bought art supplies. She taught me how to knit and sew and would encourage me to draw and paint.

One of the many things I learned from Liza, as we called her, was the idea of giving back. She encouraged me to do volunteer work and to donate money to causes I believed in whenever I could. Little did I know just how important those ideals would become in my life. In 1986 after a courageous battle with Breast Cancer we lost Liza and I became an advocate for Breast Cancer Awareness.

In the years since I have had several friends diagnosed with Breast Cancer some have survived and others have not but I do whatever I can to promote awareness through art in honor of Liza and countless others.


We have come a long way but we still have a long way to go in the battle against Breast Cancer so please do all that you can to support awareness.


This painting is part of the EBSQ online show Think Pink.
Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

3 comments:

Judy said...

Thank you for sharing your personal story and creating such a lovely painting. So many women are touched by breast cancer: it is important for us to remember what a huge impact it has on the female population and fight for its cure. In doing so, we honor those we love who have fought this disease and those who have lost that fight. -Judy

foxygknits said...

Liza sounds like a wonderful person, and it is so lovely that you honor her in so many ways. Cancer is a disease that has great impact on not only the patients, but the loved ones as well. Until there is a cure for cancer, I hope that you will continue to use your voice to raise awareness about this disease. -Lois

studio pashnada said...

beautiful tribute ~ Sherry