Every child is an artist, the problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. For Cuba’s Christy Abbey, it wasn’t a problem at all.

“Ever since I was a child, I loved to draw, paint and put things together,” she said. “My mother always said that I could see things that others couldn’t see and I hope that I still do that today.”

Abbey is Bryan W. Whitfield Memorial Hospital’s third quarter Exhibit artist. She was thrilled when she found out the news that she would be the featured artist beginning Sunday.

Although Abbey lives in Cuba, during her summer months – and a few months in between – she visits her camp house on River Road where it’s been since 1955 in Demopolis.

She said that she basically grew up here and that’s where she got some of her ideas for her paintings.

“I have painted the water tower in Demopolis, the Warrior River and Bluff Hall, just to name a few,” she said. “My favorite things to paint though are animals. You can take a building or landscape and paint them, yes, but an animal has so many features that you have to get just right. It’s amazing. “

She also enjoys stained glass and that is something she’s been relishing longer than painting.

“I’ve been making stained glass steady for about 17 years,” she said. “I’ve been painting off and on for about 10 years. Stained glass is something that I’ve always loved. You have to be so precise and it’s time consuming, I just love it and the finished products are always just so unique and beautiful.”

Abbey will have approximately 20 paintings featured in the Exhibit, all oil paintings. She will also have a section devoted to her beloved stained glass.

“I hope everyone enjoys the Exhibit and my work as much as I do,” she said with a smile. “This is something I’m very passionate about and have been for years. I love to paint and create stained glass. It’s art and like my mother said, ‘I hope I’m able to show people things through my art that they wouldn’t see anywhere else.’”

The opening of BWWMH’s Exhibit will be held Sunday, July 10 at 2 p.m. in the main lobby.