When my husband passed away in 2023, I had been working on a life memoir in an online course with author Wilma Derksen, and some other participants. Darrell became ill with stage four pancreatic cancer, so the remainder of my online course had to be postponed.
I was able to complete it later that year. The idea had been to create a life story to pass on to my children, so that they’d have a record of the stages of my entire life. So often children only know what they are told as they grow up.
The idea of an art memoir was a natural followup to the original, since I had written many stories about my paintings and the people and places that inspired them. Most of all, I needed a place to tell about my art connections with my boss and mentor Steve Bell, poet Malcolm Guite for the book “Seven Whole Days,” and Paul Boge who asked me to illustrate “The Biggest Family in the World.”
As a child, my older sister June frightened me by telling me that there was an alligator under my bed. Every night I was fearful to dangle my hand over the side of my bed.
Throughout my life, there were indeed alligators under my bed, but can alligators be good?
So I bring you my new art memoir, “The Alligator Under My Bed.” It contains over 100 of my art works, along with stories of how they came to be and the people who inspired me. Above all, I give the glory to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who guided me through it all.
The book is only available on Kindle online. To view or purchase, click HERE.