Donna Leigh Coupard
Before I was a dancer, suddenly I was bedridden. I lay there watching the world – really seeing as only someone who is so still can. I saw light and shadow, line and color. I studied the art on my walls stroke by stroke, and when I emerged I began painting.
In painting portraits I want to capture the tenderness of the subject: their moment of joy, openness, vulnerability. Capturing a true feeling is all-important to me. Each painting is a new beginning and a continued opportunity to learn.
Finally, after having let go of so much -- my dancing, my intellect – art opens a whole new world for me. It has been my buoy in the rough seas of MS. It keeps me going when the loss and disability have brought me down, generating beauty and creating a new reason to live each day.