DAPHNE is raising her grandson, following the sudden death of her beloved daughter.

Elaine has put her heart and soul into helping the charity which helped her cope with cancer.

Suzi gave up her job to follow her dream.

These Glasgow women have joined many more, from all over the world, to support a city artist in her bid to raise as much money as possible for Maggie’s cancer caring centres.

Lucy Gordon set herself the challenge of painting a portrait a week for a whole year.

“At first, I didn’t tell anyone I was doing it, just in case I couldn’t,” she admits. “I wasn’t any good at portraits really – my husband, who is my sounding board, said the people I painted looked like zombies, which wasn’t a great start.

“But I needed a challenge. I’m used to working in isolation, and I mainly paint animals, so this was an opportunity to come out of my comfort zone.”

Gordon came up with the idea last spring, after two close friends were supported by Maggie’s, which provides emotional and practical support for people with cancer and their friends and families.

“I saw what a difference Maggie’s made to them, and I wanted to help,” she says, simply. “I decided to paint women because I wanted a theme, and thought it would be more striking.

“The fact that it coincides with the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which gave some women the right to vote in the UK, was a nice correlation.”

At first, Gordon painted family and friends, but as word spread, strangers got in touch to ask if they could be part of the project.

As the weeks went by, Gordon posted some of the portraits on social media and suddenly, women who did not know each other were having conversations, making connections and sharing experiences.

“I’ve had incredible support from my family and my friends, and it has been amazing to understand the reach of the project – I’ve had women from as far afield as Sweden and North Carolina getting in touch,” she explains.

“Many women had connections to Maggie’s, but many did not. It became about much more than cancer, or one particular charity. It is about women and their stories.”

Some of the subjects, including Lucy’s own daughters Matilda, nine, and five-year-old Robyn, sat for the artist; most sent in photographs. Lucy’s self-portraits mark the beginning and end of the project.

As she worked on, Lucy admits to feeling a growing responsibility to the women she was painting.

“My main aim was always to raise as much money for Maggie’s as possible,” she explains. “But I feel like this has also become about telling the story of women.

“All of these faces have some kind of adversity going on behind them, and I wanted to capture that, to show their strength.”

Lucy, an art psychotherapist who works with primary school children in Glasgow, and her music producer husband Chris live on the south side of the city, with Matilda, Robyn and son Louis, who is seven.

“He was a little cross his portrait wasn’t going to be included,” smiles Gordon. “But I have done one of him anyway, just for us.”

Elaine van den Akker, 46, from Giffnock, raised £22,000 for Maggie’s last year, after the charity supported her through her treatment for breast cancer.

“I was touched to be asked to help Lucy, to help Maggie’s,” she says. “At Maggie’s you can lose your coping face.

“My daughters were three and five when I was diagnosed and I remember telling the cancer support specialist at Maggie’s that I had tiny kids, that I was afraid of dying. She said, ‘well, you might, but you probably won’t.’ It was a revelation – to have someone really hear my feelings, without their own clouding their response.

“Being part of this project has been a revelation too. Lucy has given us all a voice, allowed us to share our experiences.”

Suzi Nicol 49, a shop owner from Pollokshaws, Glasgow, agrees.

“It is such an honour to be involved,” she says. “I worked as a project manager in the civil service for 21 years but after my mum died from bowel cancer and, six months later, my dad was diagnosed with it too, I gave up the job I was miserable in and followed my dream to open a Scottish art and gift shop.”

She adds: “When someone you love is diagnosed with cancer, you are suddenly in a bubble full of hospices and hospitals and treatments. Having something like Maggie’s to help you cope is fantastic.”

She smiles: “Thankfully, my dad is doing well and I've just celebrated my shop's third birthday.”

Daphne Ndlovu, 63 from Giffnock, was devastated when her daughter Lebu, who was 31 at the time, died in her sleep three years ago.

“My world turned upside down,” she says. “There was never any thought in my mind, nor in my husband’s mind, but to bring up our grandson ourselves. It has not been easy being an older mum/gran, but it has been a blessing and a privilege.”

She adds: “In my grief, I experienced much human kindness from the community I am part of, so I was very happy to be able to give something back through Lucy’s project.

“Everyone has been through a lot in their lives but we are survivors, we are strong. I look at these paintings and I see the strength of women.”

Lucy’s portraits will now be displayed at The Garment Factory as part of Maggie’s Glasgow’s Culture Crawl on September 28, before being sold, with all proceeds going to the charity.

To donate to the project, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/50portraitsandme

For more information about the Culture Crawl, visit maggiescentres.org