« Not just another pretty face | Main | Autopsy Confirms NYPD Detective Died As A Result of Rescue and Recovery Work at Ground Zero »
April 10, 2006
New York on a splatter
Byrnes took a huge gamble when she left Sydney and moved to New York in 1999 with just a suitcase. When the art market went cold after the September 11 terrorist attacks she just worked harder - painting every day and late into the night.
Then there is her disability. She has Friedreich's Ataxia, a rare degenerative illness that affects one in 50,000 people. The symptoms begin at puberty and worsen until walking becomes almost impossible. Speech is impaired and life expectancy diminished.
In a wheelchair, there are practical difficulties in negotiating a new city. But now she has a green card and New York is home. She paints in a massive studio in Manhattan's Chelsea district and her clients include the Hollywood director M. Night Shyamalan who made The Sixth Sense and Signs. She has become a classic New York success story.
Posted by Michelle at April 10, 2006 04:28 PM