🌄 ABOUT ME — DARLENE MCCOY TUTTLE

Artist • Writer • Market Owner • Appalachian Woman Who’s Lived Some Life

I was born and raised in the hills of Eastern Kentucky, where stories are currency and women learn early how to survive what life hands them. My life hasn’t been easy — not by a long shot. I went through more as a teenager than most grown women ever should. I survived two abusive marriages before I even understood what real love was supposed to feel like.

But I kept going. I kept building. I kept believing there had to be more for me.

And there was.

I met my husband, Paul, in my early twenties, and together we built a life that feels steady, safe, and ours. We raised four kids who grew into the kind of adults any mother would be proud of — strong, loving, hardworking, and incredible parents to their own children. That’s my greatest accomplishment. Not the businesses. Not the art. Not the books. My kids are my legacy.

I’ve spent my whole life working — running businesses, keeping a home, cooking, cleaning, creating, and doing whatever needed done. I’ve battled health problems, anxiety, and panic attacks that can knock me flat without warning. These days, Paul runs the counter at our market so I can breathe a little easier. I’m grateful for that every single day.

Now, I create from my home studio — paint on my hands, messy bun, coffee somewhere nearby. I paint roosters, barns, mountains, and whatever else my heart feels. I write stories, memoir pages, and guides shaped from the life I’ve lived. I share the real parts of my days — the good, the hard, the funny, the honest.

I’m not trying to be perfect. I’m not trying to be polished. I’m just trying to be real.

Everything I make — every brushstroke, every paragraph, every product in my market — comes from the same place: a woman who has lived some life, learned some lessons, and still finds beauty in the middle of it all.

If you’re here, welcome. You’re in the right place.