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A Triad artist is using her artwork to help Western North Carolina artists impacted by Helene. Lizzie Morrison is a Mount Airy resident who has been making art for more than 20 years. Over that time, shes created a diverse portfolio of paintings, drawings, and prints. She describes herself as a maximalist when it comes to art. I like a busy piece of work that you could stare at for a long time, she said. And I love movement.Morrison also loves the mountains of North Carolina. As a native of the state, she says she and her family travel to the high country often and were saddened by the devastation caused by Helene. I did what I always do when something is hard, and I took some time in front of a blank canvas and just let it out that way, Morrison said. Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking hereThe result was WNC Sunrise, a 12 X 12 canvas painting showing a sunrise peeking over the mountains of Banner Elk. Morrison says she sketched the scene after a trip to the town over the summer. Banner Elk is one of many communities that suffered tremendous losses during the storm. For Morrison, the acrylic and ink painting inspired by the sketch took on a whole new meaning. There’s a lot of line work, a lot of color, and I wanted it to capture both the feeling of calm that you get when you’re looking at the mountains in western North Carolina, she said. But also, I wanted it to give hope to the people who have suffered tremendous loss.Keep up with the latest news and weather by downloading the WXII app here.Morrison posted a picture of the painting on social media to sell for $500. She had the goal of donating the money to the Craft Emergency Relief Fund, or CERF +, for short. I wanted to channel funds to a reputable cause, she said. CERF+ has been around since 1985, and they provide relief grants to artists that are in disaster and emergencies.The painting not only sold but garnered additional interest. Thats when Morrison decided to expand the fundraiser. She created 55 canvas prints of the original painting and began selling them. So far, shes sold 53 of them, raising more than her new fundraising goal of $5,000.It’s been amazing to see that people not only gravitate towards my work, Morrison said. But that they want to support artists in western North Carolina.Morrison says 100% of the proceeds will go toward CERF+ to help artists who lost their work, studios, and livelihoods to the storm. She is currently preparing to ship the prints to at least eight states across the country. Watch: NOWCAST streaming newscastsMorrison is not only an artist. She works as a community economic development planner for the North Carolina Department of Commerce. With that background, she says she knows how important artists are to the economies of communities such as those in Western North Carolina. I think artists are such a pivotal part of not only our culture but also of our economy, she said. And one thing that I knew I could tangibly do was use my art to raise funds for them.She encourages others to donate to reputable art organizations working to help artists and to buy directly from the artists selling their work through the recovery. It’s incremental growth, she said. I have seen everybody rolling up their sleeves and doing whatever they can in the way that they know best to help western North Carolina.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Watch NOWCAST TV | Local News | National | News We Love | Trending Stories