I think of my brother Mike* quite often. I credit him, in part, with the origin of my inquisitiveness and my wide range of interests. I challenged myself to conjure up an image of Mike and paint the first image that came to my mind. I have posted many articles, photographs and paintings of my […]
In this study I continue to use the thick outlines inspired by Joan Miró (see Hand in Hand) to combine two gestures frequently exhibited by my brother Mike*. Backstory I photographed Mike for many years and tried to capture his actions with the hope of understanding his expressions. Mike’s hand is often on the side […]
I flip through pages of art books of my favorite artists in search of ideas. Carolyn Lanchner’s Joan Miró was on my desk and I turned the pages until I got to the following pieces: The Bird with a Calm Look, Its Wings in Flames; The Bird Boom-Boom Makes His Appeal to the Head Onion […]
Yesterday’s vintage photograph of my brother Mike* in bandages was rather dramatic. He was in the midst of one of his stereotypical gestures (elbowing himself in the chest) as I snapped the picture. But, as with most photographs, that one did not tell the whole story about Mike in his bandages. I visited Mike in […]
This watercolor and sketch is the companion piece to my other post today (Bandaged Mike), the subject of which is also my brother Mike*. I photographed him after another resident hurt him. The hand sketches were copied from photos I took of my brother. The delicateness of his hands has always impressed me. *Mike is […]
Mike* has very expressive hands. I have posted sketches of them before (Resting Hands Revisited, Playing Hands, About to Hold Hands, Hands Full). Years ago another resident of his group home hurt him. It is hard to blame the other guy. Mike can be very annoying. He used to steal food from the plates of […]
I’ve taken countless photographs of hands over the years. Many of them have been of my family. I caught some of my older brother Mike‘s* gestures on film; my younger brother Dave‘s hands on the piano; my father conducting imaginary orchestras and my mother holding Mike when he was young. These images are a treasure […]
Mike’s* hands at rest, were very delicate. I’m sure they still are. I haven’t seen him in a long time, since I moved to California, quite a distance from where he lives. Below is a photo I shot during a visit to his old group home. While his hands are a strong visual element here, […]
This piece was not conjured with the photo of Mike at his Group Home in mind. However I did have a couple thoughts about Mike’s* hand gestures as I penciled in my free-form design. Today’s other blog post (Expressive Hands – Quiescent) details some of the influence that my brother Mike has on my art. […]
I began my blog in 2013 to share some of my experiences as a younger sibling of an autistic individual. Mike, my older brother, as many of you already know, is autistic, low functioning and nonverbal. It took me about a year to share my feelings, ideas, inspirations and desperations growing up: 1) in a […]
