What a scary time at your young age! Breast density is my problem… I have the higher/better images and no change from previous. But you are right…the last line always says density is hard to detect anything. I am most interested in these mountain scapes…how you’ve learned to enrich them little by little and can foresee the outcome…as not defining the mountain due to tree overgrowth. Fascinating to me this can be worked out in mind before brush to canvas! You are amazing, Beth! Thank you for sharing this 12/26 memory… it embraces gratitude year after year. Wishing you a wonderful new year ahead, my friend! 🥰🤗🫶🎉
I so appreciate your comment. Yes, breast density poses a visibility problem for radiologists, but I'm glad you have the better images, with no changes from your previous mammogram.
My oncologist started ordering MRIs due to my breast density, telling me "This way, we can try to keep you from slipping through the cracks."
Yes, creating mountainscapes is intriguing for me. I almost always use a reference photo to give me an idea of how an art piece might be designed and composed. The reference photo I'm using has foliage in the foreground, which is an inspiration for the foliage I will create.
When I first started oil painting, I tried to make the subject exactly like the photo, which I realize now that paintings don't necessarily have to look like a photo. Now, I always stray from the original photo.
I am so glad you are enjoying my art. I love the process of creating art, and this painting is no exception.
Joan, I wish you a safe, healthy, and very happy New Year. ❤
Wow, no wonder Dec 26th is etched into your memory. I didn't remember when exactly your diagnosis was - or rather when that diagnostic mammogram was. My diagnosis day was April 29th, just days after my diagnostic mammogram. I'll never forget any of it. And why are those rooms always so cold?
It had to be extra scary being diagnosed in your 30s. And seeing that magazine article. Yikes. I'm glad you have a good memory about the kindness of that tech. Such seemingly small acts of kindness can mean so much.
Your painting is looking beautiful. I can't wait to see the additions. I also look forward to learning about the new technique. We're learning right along with you.
Thank you for writing so candidly about your breast cancer experience and thank you for sharing your passion for painting, too. I look forward to reading more about both in 2026. May the new year be kinder to us all. Hugs.
I know you can relate to all the fear and horror of diagnosis. I remember that the doctor who told you that you "have a cancer" was an asshole. There's no good way to receive the news, but kindness and empathy really help somewhat.
Yes, the kindness of the mammography personnel was also etched into my memory. I wish I knew all the kind people's names, so I could personally thank them all. But, as you well know, the cancer experience is chaotic and stressful beyond words, so I didn't get their names.
While getting diagnosed in my 30s was really scary, I know that it is incredibly scary for everyone. Your wonderful memoir Cancer Was Not a Gift & It Did Not Make Me a Better Person highlights all the suffering someone -- of any age -- goes through with a cancer diagnosis and treatment. I can't even imagine the fear and grief of you getting diagnosed with cancer not long after your mom died from metastatic breast cancer. That's incredibly terrifying..
The one thing that pisses me off about that day was the magazine article. Who puts a breast cancer magazine in a mammography room, especially when that magazine has an article about a young woman dying of the disease?
I'm so glad you are enjoying the mountainscape. I'm a little nervous about implementing the new technique, but I figure, at worst, I can make mistakes. That's how we learn.
I'm wishing you a wonderful New Year, and I'm hoping it is a far better one than 2025. ❤
The way you describe that day — the waiting, the cold room, the magazine, the kindness of the technician — brings me right back to my own day of diagnosis Beth. Thank you for showing how art, over time, can hold both grief and gratitude in the same space. x
I am so sorry you had to go through a breast cancer diagnosis, and, yes, it is amazing how similar our stories are. These types of experiences are etched into our minds forever. I'm so glad we both survived and that our paths have crossed. And, yes, art can simultaneously hold grief and gratitude, as you say.
Thank you, as always, for your support. I appreciate you.
Beth I'm so sorry you endured such pain in your life and that this is an unhappy anniversary. You somehow found the strength and courage to persevere and to beat this disease--I hope that's what people will take away from this powerful piece, that even though you had to endure the indifference of a brutal health care system, you persisted and ultimately, triumphed! I'm so very proud of you my friend! And for offering all your wisdom and grace here on The Art of Self-Care! Your beautiful painting took me back to the movie, The Sound of Music--a big favorite of mine--so I have to leave you with the lyrics to one of my favorite songs:"Climb every mountain,/
Search high and low,/Follow every byway,/Every path you know. /Climb every mountain,/Ford every stream,/Follow every rainbow,'/Till you find your dream."
Thank you for your poignant comment on my piece. Yes, I was lucky to have survived the disease and am grateful for every day. You describe the healthcare system as "brutal," and I couldn't agree more! The healthcare system in the U.S. is abysmal and appalling. We always have to self-advocate; otherwise, we are victims of a cruel, uncaring medical system
By the way, the Sound of Music is my very favorite movie! I've seen it at least 100 times. The words of Climb Every Mountain are great!
I love what you’re doing with your painting! I can feel the flow of hope and joy there. After all the trauma you’ve suffer, you’ve bravely found your way through it all. I wish for you a year of color and paint and health and love and fun. Keep going, my friend.
Thank you so much, Susan! Yes, I was trying to get the mountains ebb and flow. Art is a great way to relieve trauma, which does seem to raise its ugly head from time to time.
From one artist to another, I wish you a great year of creativivity and joy -- and of course, fun.
Yes, I do think art is a great way to deal with and process trauma that does raise its ugly head for sure. I wish for you the same: a great year of creativity, fun and joy.
It made me sad to read what you went through but so happy about how far you have come. This painting is beautiful and I think the added definition to the mountains helps. One of my favorite things about this painting is your choice of colors. They work so well together! Love you, my friend.
Thank you for your compassion and your wonderful comment. You know me so well, and I know my overall story is familiar to you. I am so glad our paths crossed and we became friends. And I am so glad I got to work with and become friends with such a wonderful person. I love you, too!
I really like the colors in this painting, too. It's kind of a departure from my color palette, but I'm liking the way it is turning out thus far.
I am so sorry for your suffering and trauma, Beth--no matter the date or time of year. And to happen to you so young only adds to life's unfairness.
Happy you are here now, able to focus on your art, and to share the beauty of that re-creation with us. May 2026 be a year of color, creativity, self-care and self-expression.
And to that point, wondering, perhaps, if these don't fall together along he same continuum towards healing?
Thank you; your heartfelt words mean so much to me. Life can definitely be unfair, as we all know, and unfortunately suffering is part of this. Your question is a good one, and I believe that the creative self-expression has definitely helped me heal.
I've realized that although I've been unlucky in certain aspects of my life, I have also been fortunate -- for surviving and thriving, and to have art with me always. I am healing day by day, with setbacks like today, of course.
I appreciate your support and compassion, Robin. Thank you, for your wonderful New Year's wishes, and I hope 2026 finds you thriving, as well.
I am so sorry, Beth, that the news you received on this date so many years ago, was so life-changing. But I am so happy for you that you have found that creating art gives you peace and calm. Your painting looks wonderful. Here's to another year of healing, good health, and more beautiful art creations. Happy new year!
I so appreciate your comment, as well as your sweet words about my latest painting. Thank you for being such a support. I'm wishing you and your husband a happy New Year, and may 2026 be healthful and joyous to you both.
The shattering of health, safety, dreams -- those shatterings come back to haunt. In a life of healing, the gathering of broken pieces still have edges that sometimes cut. Your art is a reflection of moving forward, moving into beauty, a reflection of finding your way through the dark. Courage is messy. Your art is informed by so much soulful texture, Beth. I see authenticity in your work, suffering, triumph, and good.
The mountain-scape is a favorite of mine -- watching the layers and dimension unfold. And the colors pull one in to the place and feeling-tone you're capturing. This particular canvas makes me feel like I'm gazing out over something complex that weaves together a sense of peace in its entirety.
Thank you for all that you share, the intertwining of personal story, universal story and a quest to make beauty, make love, make mercy with your art. I remain, your forever friend, and fan, ~stephanie XO
Thank you so much for your insightful comment. Hurt and healing is part of everyone's life cycle, for sure, and I so appreciate your compliments on my art and this current painting. I like when you say, "Courage is messy." Such a true comment. I believe our society's depiction of courage is a stoic warrior who has no fear. But it's really often the opposite: the crying, the fear, the edges that you describe so beautifully.
I am really lucky to have found art, which, along with exercise, allays my fears and alleviates what haunts me. And, I have found, is that fear is like a boa constrictor that tightens each time we struggle. I need to better learn how to relax and let go. Easier said than done. But definitely a worthy goal.
Have a wonderful New Year, Stephanie. I'm wishing you continued healing and look forward to more of your terrific writing that blows me away. I'm so grateful we share this Substack space.
This especially: "I believe our society's depiction of courage is a stoic warrior who has no fear. But it's really often the opposite: the crying, the fear, the edges..." AGREED!
Our culture treats things like courage and bravery as some sort of destination and ta-da, you're all fixed. When in truth, courage and bravery are on going practices.
Like you, I'm so grateful to have a means of creative expression -- that's been salvation and soothing more times than I can count. At the same time, the challenges and suffering in my life have informed me, shaped me, and certainly given me an opportunity to develop and deepen commpassion.
As always, you are in my heart, a fellow artist and seeker of beauty. Here's to a good new year, Beth.
I love how you describe courage and bravery as continuous practices. You are right: they are practices for sure, and we are all students in these disciplines.❤
Beth, I’m sorry this time of year will always carry these memories for you with that never ending fear in the background that goes along with it. Another one of those gifts that unfortunately keeps on giving…
I do hope you will have a great year ahead with good health and opportunities to keep pursuing your art. The mountainscape is looking good, it draws me in as I love the depth that the background has- layers of sky and clouds.
Thank you so much for your understanding and kind words, Alene. I know you have helped so many patients, so you know the trauma they endure.
Today is certainly forever etched in my mind. Yes, cancer forever changes the patient, and often not in a good way. To make matters more complicated, I had an appointment with a new doctor today, which added to the stress, about my asthma. He changed my daily inhaler and gave me something no doctor had done: give me a peak flow meter. I didn't even know this existed.
So seeing a new doctor on 12/26 caused me a lot of stress. But he's helping me, so I'm grateful for this.
I'm really hoping that I can devote more time to my art. I have had too much on my plate as of late. Thank you for your well wishes and your nice comment on the mountainsscape.
What a scary time at your young age! Breast density is my problem… I have the higher/better images and no change from previous. But you are right…the last line always says density is hard to detect anything. I am most interested in these mountain scapes…how you’ve learned to enrich them little by little and can foresee the outcome…as not defining the mountain due to tree overgrowth. Fascinating to me this can be worked out in mind before brush to canvas! You are amazing, Beth! Thank you for sharing this 12/26 memory… it embraces gratitude year after year. Wishing you a wonderful new year ahead, my friend! 🥰🤗🫶🎉
Hi Joan,
I so appreciate your comment. Yes, breast density poses a visibility problem for radiologists, but I'm glad you have the better images, with no changes from your previous mammogram.
My oncologist started ordering MRIs due to my breast density, telling me "This way, we can try to keep you from slipping through the cracks."
Yes, creating mountainscapes is intriguing for me. I almost always use a reference photo to give me an idea of how an art piece might be designed and composed. The reference photo I'm using has foliage in the foreground, which is an inspiration for the foliage I will create.
When I first started oil painting, I tried to make the subject exactly like the photo, which I realize now that paintings don't necessarily have to look like a photo. Now, I always stray from the original photo.
I am so glad you are enjoying my art. I love the process of creating art, and this painting is no exception.
Joan, I wish you a safe, healthy, and very happy New Year. ❤
Hi Beth,
Wow, no wonder Dec 26th is etched into your memory. I didn't remember when exactly your diagnosis was - or rather when that diagnostic mammogram was. My diagnosis day was April 29th, just days after my diagnostic mammogram. I'll never forget any of it. And why are those rooms always so cold?
It had to be extra scary being diagnosed in your 30s. And seeing that magazine article. Yikes. I'm glad you have a good memory about the kindness of that tech. Such seemingly small acts of kindness can mean so much.
Your painting is looking beautiful. I can't wait to see the additions. I also look forward to learning about the new technique. We're learning right along with you.
Thank you for writing so candidly about your breast cancer experience and thank you for sharing your passion for painting, too. I look forward to reading more about both in 2026. May the new year be kinder to us all. Hugs.
Hi Nancy,
I know you can relate to all the fear and horror of diagnosis. I remember that the doctor who told you that you "have a cancer" was an asshole. There's no good way to receive the news, but kindness and empathy really help somewhat.
Yes, the kindness of the mammography personnel was also etched into my memory. I wish I knew all the kind people's names, so I could personally thank them all. But, as you well know, the cancer experience is chaotic and stressful beyond words, so I didn't get their names.
While getting diagnosed in my 30s was really scary, I know that it is incredibly scary for everyone. Your wonderful memoir Cancer Was Not a Gift & It Did Not Make Me a Better Person highlights all the suffering someone -- of any age -- goes through with a cancer diagnosis and treatment. I can't even imagine the fear and grief of you getting diagnosed with cancer not long after your mom died from metastatic breast cancer. That's incredibly terrifying..
The one thing that pisses me off about that day was the magazine article. Who puts a breast cancer magazine in a mammography room, especially when that magazine has an article about a young woman dying of the disease?
I'm so glad you are enjoying the mountainscape. I'm a little nervous about implementing the new technique, but I figure, at worst, I can make mistakes. That's how we learn.
I'm wishing you a wonderful New Year, and I'm hoping it is a far better one than 2025. ❤
The way you describe that day — the waiting, the cold room, the magazine, the kindness of the technician — brings me right back to my own day of diagnosis Beth. Thank you for showing how art, over time, can hold both grief and gratitude in the same space. x
Hi Marie,
I am so sorry you had to go through a breast cancer diagnosis, and, yes, it is amazing how similar our stories are. These types of experiences are etched into our minds forever. I'm so glad we both survived and that our paths have crossed. And, yes, art can simultaneously hold grief and gratitude, as you say.
Thank you, as always, for your support. I appreciate you.
Beth I'm so sorry you endured such pain in your life and that this is an unhappy anniversary. You somehow found the strength and courage to persevere and to beat this disease--I hope that's what people will take away from this powerful piece, that even though you had to endure the indifference of a brutal health care system, you persisted and ultimately, triumphed! I'm so very proud of you my friend! And for offering all your wisdom and grace here on The Art of Self-Care! Your beautiful painting took me back to the movie, The Sound of Music--a big favorite of mine--so I have to leave you with the lyrics to one of my favorite songs:"Climb every mountain,/
Search high and low,/Follow every byway,/Every path you know. /Climb every mountain,/Ford every stream,/Follow every rainbow,'/Till you find your dream."
Hi Gerry,
Thank you for your poignant comment on my piece. Yes, I was lucky to have survived the disease and am grateful for every day. You describe the healthcare system as "brutal," and I couldn't agree more! The healthcare system in the U.S. is abysmal and appalling. We always have to self-advocate; otherwise, we are victims of a cruel, uncaring medical system
By the way, the Sound of Music is my very favorite movie! I've seen it at least 100 times. The words of Climb Every Mountain are great!
I love what you’re doing with your painting! I can feel the flow of hope and joy there. After all the trauma you’ve suffer, you’ve bravely found your way through it all. I wish for you a year of color and paint and health and love and fun. Keep going, my friend.
Thank you so much, Susan! Yes, I was trying to get the mountains ebb and flow. Art is a great way to relieve trauma, which does seem to raise its ugly head from time to time.
From one artist to another, I wish you a great year of creativivity and joy -- and of course, fun.
Yes, I do think art is a great way to deal with and process trauma that does raise its ugly head for sure. I wish for you the same: a great year of creativity, fun and joy.
It made me sad to read what you went through but so happy about how far you have come. This painting is beautiful and I think the added definition to the mountains helps. One of my favorite things about this painting is your choice of colors. They work so well together! Love you, my friend.
Hi Pam,
Thank you for your compassion and your wonderful comment. You know me so well, and I know my overall story is familiar to you. I am so glad our paths crossed and we became friends. And I am so glad I got to work with and become friends with such a wonderful person. I love you, too!
I really like the colors in this painting, too. It's kind of a departure from my color palette, but I'm liking the way it is turning out thus far.
I am so sorry for your suffering and trauma, Beth--no matter the date or time of year. And to happen to you so young only adds to life's unfairness.
Happy you are here now, able to focus on your art, and to share the beauty of that re-creation with us. May 2026 be a year of color, creativity, self-care and self-expression.
And to that point, wondering, perhaps, if these don't fall together along he same continuum towards healing?
Hi Robin,
Thank you; your heartfelt words mean so much to me. Life can definitely be unfair, as we all know, and unfortunately suffering is part of this. Your question is a good one, and I believe that the creative self-expression has definitely helped me heal.
I've realized that although I've been unlucky in certain aspects of my life, I have also been fortunate -- for surviving and thriving, and to have art with me always. I am healing day by day, with setbacks like today, of course.
I appreciate your support and compassion, Robin. Thank you, for your wonderful New Year's wishes, and I hope 2026 finds you thriving, as well.
Thank you, Beth, for your quiet strength and artistry as we see it— and you—emerging
❤
I am so sorry, Beth, that the news you received on this date so many years ago, was so life-changing. But I am so happy for you that you have found that creating art gives you peace and calm. Your painting looks wonderful. Here's to another year of healing, good health, and more beautiful art creations. Happy new year!
Hi Nancy,
I so appreciate your comment, as well as your sweet words about my latest painting. Thank you for being such a support. I'm wishing you and your husband a happy New Year, and may 2026 be healthful and joyous to you both.
The shattering of health, safety, dreams -- those shatterings come back to haunt. In a life of healing, the gathering of broken pieces still have edges that sometimes cut. Your art is a reflection of moving forward, moving into beauty, a reflection of finding your way through the dark. Courage is messy. Your art is informed by so much soulful texture, Beth. I see authenticity in your work, suffering, triumph, and good.
The mountain-scape is a favorite of mine -- watching the layers and dimension unfold. And the colors pull one in to the place and feeling-tone you're capturing. This particular canvas makes me feel like I'm gazing out over something complex that weaves together a sense of peace in its entirety.
Thank you for all that you share, the intertwining of personal story, universal story and a quest to make beauty, make love, make mercy with your art. I remain, your forever friend, and fan, ~stephanie XO
Hi Stephanie,
Thank you so much for your insightful comment. Hurt and healing is part of everyone's life cycle, for sure, and I so appreciate your compliments on my art and this current painting. I like when you say, "Courage is messy." Such a true comment. I believe our society's depiction of courage is a stoic warrior who has no fear. But it's really often the opposite: the crying, the fear, the edges that you describe so beautifully.
I am really lucky to have found art, which, along with exercise, allays my fears and alleviates what haunts me. And, I have found, is that fear is like a boa constrictor that tightens each time we struggle. I need to better learn how to relax and let go. Easier said than done. But definitely a worthy goal.
Have a wonderful New Year, Stephanie. I'm wishing you continued healing and look forward to more of your terrific writing that blows me away. I'm so grateful we share this Substack space.
Hugs, Beth
This especially: "I believe our society's depiction of courage is a stoic warrior who has no fear. But it's really often the opposite: the crying, the fear, the edges..." AGREED!
Our culture treats things like courage and bravery as some sort of destination and ta-da, you're all fixed. When in truth, courage and bravery are on going practices.
Like you, I'm so grateful to have a means of creative expression -- that's been salvation and soothing more times than I can count. At the same time, the challenges and suffering in my life have informed me, shaped me, and certainly given me an opportunity to develop and deepen commpassion.
As always, you are in my heart, a fellow artist and seeker of beauty. Here's to a good new year, Beth.
I love how you describe courage and bravery as continuous practices. You are right: they are practices for sure, and we are all students in these disciplines.❤
Students of life, for life. YES. Big hugs my friend.
Beth, I’m sorry this time of year will always carry these memories for you with that never ending fear in the background that goes along with it. Another one of those gifts that unfortunately keeps on giving…
I do hope you will have a great year ahead with good health and opportunities to keep pursuing your art. The mountainscape is looking good, it draws me in as I love the depth that the background has- layers of sky and clouds.
Sending hugs to you, especially today.
Thank you so much for your understanding and kind words, Alene. I know you have helped so many patients, so you know the trauma they endure.
Today is certainly forever etched in my mind. Yes, cancer forever changes the patient, and often not in a good way. To make matters more complicated, I had an appointment with a new doctor today, which added to the stress, about my asthma. He changed my daily inhaler and gave me something no doctor had done: give me a peak flow meter. I didn't even know this existed.
So seeing a new doctor on 12/26 caused me a lot of stress. But he's helping me, so I'm grateful for this.
I'm really hoping that I can devote more time to my art. I have had too much on my plate as of late. Thank you for your well wishes and your nice comment on the mountainsscape.