I spent today at The Tulsa Boys' Home, and what an honor it was to get some time with their students and learn more about their program.
This is a facility that houses, educates, counsels, mentors, and fiercely loves the wards of the state placed in their care. They also have a substance abuse program. And their equine therapy program is a pioneer model - it partners with other non profit groups, reaching out and working with populations not directly on site.
I painted with a group this morning, but clearly, once again, I did more talking I think than active mark making. They were engaging, asked fabulous questions, and quite simply won me over.
My heart hurts for these students, but it also soars, for anything becomes possible with love and respect and patience.
Tomorrow I'll be attending their annual fundraiser, The Run for The Roses Gala. Again, such an honor to be donating my time and efforts to a school that is working tremendously hard to make a difference in these boys' lives.
Thanks for following along with my artwork,
Kim
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The cover of "A Dog Named Blue," now available from Blurb publishers. When I first painted Amelia I never imagined that she would be re-christened "Blue" and inspire a book. In her defense, Amelia had a number of other partners in crime - animals who's portraits seemed to fall into a specific color category and prompt color-centric names. In typical ADD fashion, my brain started spinning 100mph. What if I turned those muses' paintings into a picture book for animal loving kids? I shared my idea with three friends in the industry, and they eagerly offered their expertise. I am truly indebted to them. Illustrator and author Matt Faulkner and children's book author and literacy expert Kristen Remenar edited an early version of the draft. They suggested key plot/conceptual changes that made it oodles better. Designer Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson worked her magic, pairing the images with perfectly color...
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