Way to go: Camille Floyd, Glen Cove

Camille Yvette Lawrence Floyd counters her blood disease with creativity.

Camille, a sixth-grader at Robert M. Finley Middle School in Glen Cove who suffers from sickle cell anemia, has about 40 of her watercolor artworks featured at The College of New Rochelle's Gordon A. Parks Gallery and Cultural Arts Center.

The exhibit, titled "Sickle Cell Anemia: A Child's Perspective," continues through Nov. 23. It went on display in September.

The exhibit was coordinated by Globalscope, a Manhattan-based nonprofit that provides health outreach and prevention education through community seminars and workshops.

"Painting is like singing a song with colors," said Camille, 11, who took up painting at the age of 3, on the advice of a doctor, to avoid watching too much television. "I love all the beautiful colors, so when I'm painting I mix them all together to create something nice."

Camille also is a singer, and she has recorded with artists including Robbi Kumalo and Doctor K's Motown Review. She was among a group of kids who accompanied Ashanti onstage at the 2003 Grammy Awards.

Currently, she is preparing for a role in an upcoming production of "Annie" at the Cultural Arts Playhouse in Roslyn.