My friend, Brita, sent me a link to this artist's website and I HAVE TO SHARE IT WITH YOU.
If you're not a fan of colour then her art probably won't impact you, but whoa. I love it. Like alot.
No way I could afford one of her originals, but I think I'd like to have a big piece of colourful art in my new place.
Her story, in her words, from her Facebook page:
A few things you might not know about me. My name is pronounced "Why Anne".
I've been a full time artist for almost 30 years. 
I did go to art school, but studied photography. I worked as a professional photographer for a few years. I started painting but never showed my work. I owned 2 art galleries, and thought I was better at mentoring artists than creating my own art.
Then the Internet came along. We were selling more art on the internet than we did through the gallery. I gradually got the courage to start selling my own work online, and closed the galleries. In 2005 I offered my first online class. And have been doing classes online ever since. I licensed my artwork for products and home decor. On the outside, it seemed that I had a great life and career. But, deep down, I wasn't happy.
At the end of 2013 I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer of the tongue. In January 2014 they removed my entire tongue and 69 lymph nodes from my neck and shoulders. Nine of those tested positive for cancer. They took skin grafts from my non-painting arm and thigh to cover the hole where my tongue once was. They gave me a trach to help me breathe, and a stomach feeding tube. I spent a couple of weeks in the hospital. In the last days there, and I was able to paint. At the time I could only paint blobs of color. But, they were so beautiful to me. I had horrific radiation & chemo for months afterwards. I wasn't allowed to try to talk for 6 months until they finally took the trach out. It took almost a year before I started to feel strong enough to do more than lay on the couch.
I started painting again from a small home studio, The following year, when I got my all clear cancer scan... I decided to start painting BIG. I had always wanted to since I was a little girl, but had been too scared to try. I got a big studio to pursue that dream. It was a huge step for me because I wasn't sure that I'd be able to communicate with people, and had a permanent stomach feeding tube. I found the more I tried to talk the better I became at it. My speech won't ever be perfect, but I'm here 6 1/2 years later... cancer free. I'm living my dream and have never been happier. 
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