Friends.

In April of this year, I learned from a newspaper article http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/03/27/news/shoreline/doc4baedbd1e1549842187025.txt (Old Saybrook artist is "Portrait of a Survivor"), that a friend and award-winning portrait artist with whom I had lost touch had had a nearly fatal collision with a drunk driver in January of last year. After multiple surgeries, months in hospital, and numerous ancillary disasters, she has regained substantial physical function. She is not able to drive or return to work in the corporate arena, but she is able to paint again.

With her limited mobility and physical stamina, she has started creating small moderately priced works -- "Healing Waters" -- a series of oil wash and pastel seascapes, which she is selling through local galleries and her website. She also has developed a line of simple but elegant watercolor greeting cards, each an original painting, not a copy. To see her work, please follow the link to her new website: www.judyperryart.com. These pieces make wonderful gifts.

Aside from the ongoing physical pain and emotional stress associated with this event, the transition from a good job to disability insurance makes maintaining a home and starting a new business particularly daunting. If you like her work, please consider making a purchase now, and pass on the website link to your friends. Even small sales help to cover the costs of living, and one added to another can make a big difference.