A Mearns artist believes painting helped her win her battle with a rare cancer.
Alison Chandler underwent emergency surgery and 16 cycles of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with abdominal cancer.
The 61-year-old’s painting odyssey began after her surgery in 2016 and she held her first exhibition at the Johnshaven Heritage Hub last year.
Having amassed paintings at a prolific pace while undergoing treatment, her work has drawn attention from across the UK.
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And now her journey is the subject of an award-winning documentary set in Johnshaven where she lives with her husband Miles.
As she gradually recovered her health, one of Mrs Chandler’s first goals was to walk the 72-mile ancient pilgrimage route in Chile, known as the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.
She said: “The inspiration of earlier visits to this 1,000-year-old road helped me through the illness, and it was magical to be well enough to talk the route into Santiago.
“It filled my head with new paintings.”
Back home and filled with new ideas, Mrs Chandler painted almost a picture a day as she progressed through her chemotherapy.
Her favourites will be shown at her second exhibition, The Way Through, which opens on Friday at Johnshaven Heritage Hub. It will run until April 7, and is open from 1pm-4pm.
Sales of her work will enable Mrs Chandler to continue to contribute to the community with initiatives such as a recent visit to Johnshaven Primary School, whose pupils’ resulting work on self-expression will accompany the exhibition.
She said: “The Hub is an important community connector and a brilliant exhibition space, and I am pleased that this show will support the sustainability of it as a resource for this extraordinarily charming village that I call home.”
Her story is now the subject of a film, Painting Myself Brave, by London-based film director Tim Langford. The documentary won a gold award at the recent Event and Visual Communication Industry Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
