O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center Magazine Spring 2020 | Page 33

Boyd receives ArtBLINK
2020 Patrons Choice Award
Five pieces of artwork currently hang on the walls of the
O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB, each an
original piece from the Cancer Center’s annual ArtBLINK
Gala over the years. This year, a new masterpiece will be
added to the collection.
The O’Neal Cancer Center director and members of the
advisory board select one artist each year to receive the
Patrons Choice Award, an honor that began at the 2015
ArtBLINK Gala. To compete for the Patrons Choice Award,
each artist must display two pre-made pieces at the gala
that are judged before the event’s live painting session.
The winner’s artwork is later hung in the Cancer Center
alongside those of past Patrons Choice Award recipients.
Patrons Choice Award winner Sally Boyd completes a painting live on
stage at this year’s ArtBLINK Gala on Feb. 1 at The Kirklin Clinic.
This year’s Patrons Choice Award winner, Sally Boyd, has
participated in ArtBLINK for six years. As an artist, Boyd
believes inspiration is found in the everyday, but she says
she feels especially motivated by the fight against cancer.
“I am an ovarian cancer survivor, my mom is a bone cancer
survivor, and I lost my dad to lung cancer, as well as a very
special aunt to stomach cancer, even though she had been
a 16-year survivor of breast cancer,” Boyd said. “Anything I
can do to help to find the cure for cancer, I am in.”
Boyd received her own ovarian cancer diagnosis after a
scheduled hysterectomy in December 2014. The cancer, in
its earliest stage, could only be detected microscopically.
Boyd says she feels blessed by this incidental discovery.
“Although I had been touched by cancer through my loved
ones, it wasn’t until it actually reared its ugly head in my
body that I decided to join this fight,” she said. “ArtBLINK
is the perfect fit for me to do whatever small part I can to
contribute to ultimately finding a cure for cancer.”
UAB.EDU/CANCER
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