Colors of the Batey Exhibit and Fundraiser

Last November my son Colin and I traveled to the Dominican Republic to deliver $4,500. we had raised to help a Haitian community there install a safe drinking water system. (You can read about our project here.) While we were there, Colin photographed and I painted and drew, with an eye towards continuing our fundraising for the community.

We are now having an exhibit of these paintings and photographs from the Batey Libertad at the University Vermont's Davis Center. You can see the show (including prices, purchase information and my sketchbook from the trip) online here.

We are donating all sales from the show to the Batey Libertad Fundacion to finish the safe water project. Please email me at sa@susanabbott.com for more information, or to make a donation! Even a little help goes a long way.

Laundry and Conversation

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The Batey, bounded by a dangerous highway and open fields, has the feel of a small isolated village even though it's close to large towns. It is a busy place that lives its life in public, from children with younger siblings in tow playing in the dusty alleys, to the elderly who play dominoes or watch the activity from the shade of their front stoop.

Cooking Dinner, Batey Libertad

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Women in the Batey manage to feed their families even without the indoor kitchens or clean running water that most of us take for granted.

Sunny Morning, Batey Libertad

Available--sale supports clean water project. Click here for information.
Young and old together in the strong sun and shadows of their home village.

Rainy Day in the Batey

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Here is the first of five new oils inspired by the Batey Libertad, the Haitian community in the Dominican Republic that I visited last November. These paintings, along with my son Colin's photographs, will be featured in an upcoming show at the University of Vermont to benefit the Batey--say tuned for more details!

Sunday Sketchbook: Dominican Republic

Another view of the men of the Batey at their game table, and on the next page, a palm tree at Playa Grande.

Tangerine Stall

A glimpse of red, orange and blue in strong sun, on a dusty road in the Dominican Republic.

Sunday Sketchbook: Dominican Republic

The men of the village play an intense game of dominoes, as serious as it is fun, under the laundry.
Click here to see a photo album from my visit to the Batey Libertad.

Hanging Laundry

Women hanging wet laundry from roofs, barbed wire fences, and clothes lines stretched in unlikely places was a common sight as I was driving through small towns in the Dominican Republic.

Red Dress, Batey Libertad

Another patient poser, this time in my son Colin's baseball hat.

Sold as a donation to the Batey's clean water project.

Sunday Sketchbook: Dominican Republic

I had a great time with the children in the Batey--they were friendly, charming, funny, and never tired of posing for me.

Playing Field at the Batey, Sunset

Most Dominicans are baseball nuts, but soccer is the first love for Haitian immigrants in the Batey.

Sold as a donation to the Batey's clean water project.

Near Santiago, DR

Groups of men talking amid their motorcycles--a common road-side sight here in the Dominican Republic. A visually exciting place that I'm finding is full of kindly people.

Sunday Sketchbook: Dominican Republic

"On the road from Santiago to the north coast--lost? Probably not..."

Sunset, Cabrera

My reward for a night on a plane and then an adventurous drive in a rental car from Santiago to the coast: watching the sun go down and the moon rise over the ocean.

Shop by the Sea, Early Morning

My son Colin and I are on our to the Dominican Republic with our paints and cameras, where we'll be visiting the Haitian community Batey Libertad. Thanks to everyone who donated and helped us to raise the funds to buy pipe for their clean water project!

Sold as a donation to the Batey's clean water project.