AutismInspiredArt: Grief (2016)

Having a low functioning autistic brother unleashes all kinds of emotions not the least of which is frustration and grief for the possibility of meaningful two-way communication. This is an abstract portrait trying to make grief visible. A matted print of this watercolor is available at my Etsy shop: AutismInspiredArt.

The Status is Quo

Nothing new. Although she hasn’t had anything to eat or drink in the past 4-5 days, my niece’s condition has not changed much. Cancer is winning. She is non-communicative, and breathing very hard. Many people who knew her have been by to see her and tell her they love her. There is not much else […]

Clawing

What would you do to hang on to life? The procedure didn’t work. Breath won’t come easier. Scratches down the throat on the inside, pain of healing an invasion, for nothing. Where to from here?

From Memory

Today’s watercolor experiment: Dad died 8 years ago today (by the lunar calendar). I lit a candle and tried drawing him from memory. Dad had a distinctive face and, of all the people I’ve (tried to) sketch, he seemed to be the easiest for me. Seemed to be… After I finished the portrait, I showed it […]

Happy Birthday to Me

Birthdays are bittersweet. I love watching children who express utter delight at the attention and excitement on their own birthdays. I observed this with my grandson at his second birthday a few months ago. We dimmed the lights to show off the cake and its bright candles. William was focused on the cake and the […]

Relapse

State of mind: Fear and sadness have been stalking me. I’m trying to figure out where it is coming from. Buyer’s remorse? I have had that before. I just stocked up on some art supplies that I may or may not have needed. Last night, I really beat myself up. Lots of bad dreams Mom […]

Choice

Change of pace for today. Circumstances dictate that I take a break from the outer landscape to concentrate on the inner, at least for today. Had a crummy night last night. Dreams. I can’t recall exactly what they were, but I’m sure that some of them had to do with my mother, who died in February […]

Blind Portrait

Today’s watercolor experiment: Yesterday I did not take my eyes of the plant I was drawing. I did not look at the paper. Today I did the opposite. I closed my eyes and did not look at the paper or the subject. The subject was my mother’s face. I used to practice drawing her face […]

Unexpected

I decided to take a break from thinking about grief, drawing plants, ferns and fungi. Today’s watercolor experiment: I did not want to think.  I wanted to try my new watercolor paper. It is larger (12″x16″) than the paper I am used to (9″x12″). I pre-wet the paper with my 3” brush, which seemed much […]