Starving Artist and Paint Pink founder’s dying wish: Her nonprofit continues to help other cancer patients
If love alone could heal Kim Keene, she would be on her way to a cure. But that’s not to be, and as the well-known artist is in the final stages of cancer, she is thinking about helping others.
Keene, a Portsmouth native who resides on Willoughby Spit in Norfolk, started the nonprofit Paint Pink in June 2023 while undergoing breast cancer treatment. Now as the stage 4 metastatic cancer attacks her brain, liver and stomach, Keene’s dying wish is that the organization continue long after she is gone.
Nicole Carry, her partner of almost six years, and others assured her it will.
“Kim wants everyone to keep fighting breast cancer, to know how important it is in our community to help people while they’re fighting cancer and for Paint Pink to continue forever,” Carry said.
Paint Pink’s mission is to provide goods and services not covered by insurance, such as payment of bills, personal care items, estate planning, yard work, house cleaning and meal delivery, to cancer patients in Hampton Roads so they can focus on their health.
After her initial breast cancer diagnosis in 2017, Keene realized how much support she had from friends and family during her treatment and wanted to pay it forward to help other locals living with cancer. She underwent a double mastectomy, followed by five years of clean scans before the cancer returned in 2022.
Paint Pink is a testament to Keene’s inspiring selflessness, said Stephanie Clark, board treasurer for the nonprofit. Having lost her mother to breast cancer in 2008, Clark said the organization’s mission resonated deeply with her.
“I met Kim through a mutual friend about a year ago, and she’s one of those people you instantly want to befriend,” Clark said. “She has a genuine, magnetic presence and a smile that radiates kindness.”
Nicole CarryKim Keene started the nonprofit Paint Pink in 2023 to help others going through cancer treatment in Hampton Roads. (Courtesy of Nicole Carry)
Jo Ann Hughes, a Norfolk police officer who serves as Paint Pink’s board vice president, said she knows the nonprofit means everything to Keene and promised her it will continue.
“Kim’s passion is painting and her heart is Paint Pink,” Hughes said.
Fellow artist and longtime friend Laura Henderson shares a space with Keene at d’Art Center. They both specialize in painting acrylic abstracts inspired by nature. Keene previously owned Starving Artist Cafe on Colley Avenue in Norfolk.
“Kim is a rare and amazing individual,” Henderson said. “She has this personality of wanting to help other people and a smile that just lights up a room.”
The two opened The Gallery at Paint Pink in Ghent in early August. They had one show together before Keene fell ill again. A portion of all art sales at the gallery benefit the nonprofit.
Paint Pink has several events planned during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October: a golf tournament on Oct. 3 at Cypress Point Country Club in Virginia Beach, Paint the Block Pink on Oct. 5 at the Starving Artist Cafe in Norfolk, Kim’s Pink Night Out on Oct. 11 at MJ’s Tavern in Norfolk and a brunch and silent auction on Oct. 27 at d’Art Center.
The organization also launched a campaign called Kim’s Krusade to help raise funding for Paint Pink.
“It’s in her name, but it’s all for other people,” Carry said. “We call it Kim’s Krusade because this is her wish — to help others.”
The goal — albeit a lofty one, Hughes said — is to raise $100,000 by the end of the year.
“I think we can reach it,” Hughes said. “She’s touched so many people in this community and is so full of sunshine and light.”
“She has got so many people who just love her,” Henderson added.
For more information about Paint Pink, visit paintpinkinc.org.
Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, [email protected]
The space in her home on Willoughby Spit where Kim Keene creates her art overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. (Sandra J. Pennecke/Staff)
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