You do not need to consider yourself an artist to make art—just ask Alice Mutch.

“I am not an artist,” she says outright. “I am simply a person who is determined to keep my corner bright by finding inspiration for myself and others.”

Alice painted They Shine the Light as a gift to her step-daughter earlier this year. The image shows three rainbows, each symbolizing the spirit of a deceased loved one.

“Turning grief into hope is my mission,” says Alice.

Alice moved to the Boothbay Region four years ago following a career as a lobbyist, most recently in Annapolis, Maryland. Although she has an artistic heritage (her great grandmother and grandmother were artists in Nova Scotia), Alice did not pick up a paintbrush until she moved to this area.

“I took lessons from a lady in Bath,” she says. “But this winter is when I really started painting. I’d had two knee replacements so I had time.”

Though They Shine the Light relates to Alice’s and her step-daughter’s particular losses (Brandon, R.W., and TARA), its resonance transcends the personal: during these COVID-19 days, we all grieve to some degree loss from a world transformed—we all long for rainbows to break in the aftermath of this storm.

Alice gave They Shine the Light to her step-daughter on Mother’s Day. “It went very well; we had a beautiful day together,” she says.

Such is the way with art—a gift of healing and hope from the heart.