Annette Bennington McElhiney, Ph. D. is a former RN, retired Professor of English and Women’s Studies, and, only after retirement, a self-taught painter. In 2010 she wrote Althea Re-balances Her Life: the emotional challenges one survivor faces after chemo for Ovarian Cancer” a humorous description of the “ups and downs” of the first two years after a cancer diagnosis. She was diagnosed with stage III Ovarian cancer in 2008 and given 5 years to live. In July of 2012, she completed 4 years of remission as a result of receiving great medical care and nurturing her immune system to be hostile to any cancer. This book, Dancing Joyfully, With or Without NED: A Blueprint using Art to Survive Ovarian Cancer documents through a combination of poetry and paintings her extensive plans for coping with cancer for the “rest of her life,” however long or short that might be. Although she writes about ovarian cancer, this book pertains to anyone living with any cancer and/or a terminal illness or caring for someone who is ill
Painting is Annette’s life line and she donates all the money she makes from her paintings to ovarian cancer research. You will note that her mixed media paintings are bright, playful, highly textured, colorful, hopefully humorous, and often loaded with glitz. They can be given in place of a greeting card or hung on your wall to make you smile or encourage you. She paints them because they give her joy and make her laugh. She hopes they do the same for you and give you, or any other recipient, good health and happiness.
If you are interested in commissioning a painting for someone who needs cheering, please let her know. She resides with her husband and two cats in Denver, CO from April – Oct and in Carlsbad, CA from Nov. – April and can be reached either by Phone 303 715-1180 and 303 929-6194 or annettemcelhiney@comcast.net. She just completed a full length memoir illustrated with colorful paintings available at https://www.amazon.com/Realizing-Post-Cancer-Self-survivor/dp/153743506X. All royalties are donated to ovarian cancer research.
Annette McElhiney joined Fine Art America on October 16th, 2012.
