These Portraits of Alessa Quizon and Others Are Being Auctioned for Hurricane Relief

“Winds were howling near 200 miles per hour while a group of 17 of us, including children and five dogs, barricaded a door those winds were trying desperately to take from us. Three hours of ear popping, howling, banging, crying, praying, screaming children, hugs, and last words…I’m in shock. I don’t know how we survived. But we did.”

Those are the first words I read from my best friend and mentor. This was the woman who believed in my creative talents and took a chance and welcomed me aboard her photography business, the woman who helped me get through one of the most heartbreaking times of my life. And yes, I could only read them from a Facebook post. Days after Hurricane Irma hit the Virgin Islands and completely devastated a place that so many of us love and hold dear, I still had yet to hear from her directly. I do know she is safe though, and that’s all that matters. Many people are still waiting to hear from loved ones, unsure of when communication will be established with a lucky second of wifi signal. Pray for them.

I am selling paintings seen on my site as well as custom orders to benefit the rebuild of the U.S. Virgin Islands after Hurricane Irma. So many homes – places people gathered in town and spots where so many good memories were shared – will have to be rebuilt, but the people who endured this hurricane, their hearts, their courage, and their resiliency, has remained unwavering.

Note: Please contact the author with interest at c.a.long@comcast.net.