Here's a time-lapse of the mural that I just painted on a local trail here in Florida. Thank you, Minneola Artworx, for the opportunity!

Also, this is what I shared in my pitch for consideration with the city — thought some of you might enjoy reading it ;)

"When we moved from Michigan over 12 years ago, our oldest was about 18 months old. It wasn’t long before he homed in on his new favorite bird: the anhinga (aka “water turkey” / “snake bird”). He loved to watch their snake-like neck and head sneak out of the water, and spotting them drying off after an eventful round of fishing in Lake Minneola is something we’ve been enjoying as part of this community for years. So, a portrait of an anhinga felt like a fun way to capture a special aspect of day-to-day life here."

I wanted to share another very special thing about this mural. It's dedicated in honor of my friend, Shelley, who we lost to cancer. I honored her wishes to not share about the day-to-day of what she was going through, but with what would have been her 55th birthday last week, and just finishing this mural in her honor, this feels like the right time to share this story.

I lost one of my best friends, Shelley, to cancer in July of 2021. For those of you who were around for Lulu's first campaign in April 2021, I found out that Shelley was sick only a few months before that campaign launched. Although, during our conversations in the fall of 2020, I was becoming increasingly suspicious that she wasn't feeling all that great. When that first campaign was unsuccessful, it ended up being a huge relief. A blessing I didn't know I needed. I had no way of knowing my dear Shelley would end up going downhill so fast, and that I would also lose my Grannie Annie in the same short window of time. I needed all of the time and space in my schedule and heart that I could get for the trips to Tampa and Ohio and for the sorrowful weight that this period brought me. I couldn't imagine attempting to tackle fulfilling the Kickstarter campaign during that same window of time. Thank you, Kyle, again for giving me the time and space to be there for her week after week until we had to say goodbye (for now). You're a gift.

Anyway, Shelley was an amazing acrylic artist, a fantastic businesswoman, and a striking designer. She was also self-taught as a painter (although her work landed in galleries far and wide, she was picked up commercially to have reproductions made of her paintings for mass-market at brick-and-mortar and online shops, and received countless commissions). We first got to know each other as she mentored me spiritually, but the friendship that evolved over the following decades centered around all things art, design, and business (and of course a love for cute animals!!). (I'll talk with her husband to see about sharing some of her artwork in the future as her website is no longer active.)

I remember when she came over and saw everything I'd been working on to create Lulu. Shelley was especially enamored with all of the paintings and textures I created — and excitedly pulled them all out of the basket one by one. "Bethany, the story is great, but all of these paintings and textures are the real highlight — this is amazing to see!" So, Shel — these texture pics below are especially just for you.

Shel is survived by her husband, mom, dad, step-mom, and brother. If you happened to read this far and would feel so inclined to pray for them, that would be amazing, and so appreciated.

Shel, thank you for every way that you touched my life. For all of the laughter and important conversations. For helping me make sense of how I was hearing from God. For instilling in me with art (and life) the importance of "flow and go". And for leaving me your painting studio supplies — neither of us knew at the time how incredibly special that would wind up becoming for me. I can't imagine I would have taken the leap to go for a mural without it. I still can't believe you aren't here to celebrate everything that's going on with Lulu, and that we never got to celebrate your next series. I miss you terribly — and can't wait to see you again.