Celebrating Disabled Artists
It is often said that there is “beauty in the struggle”. I won’t pretend that I am the only one struggling, but disability certainly comes with its own set of challenges. Art is where I find my peace – it is my port in the storm. It has helped me navigate grief and keeps me distracted from chronic pain. Art allows me to communicate when I may be lacking words and it helps me to advocate through satire, making difficult discussions more graspable.
One of my favorite things about art is that it can be anything to anyone. It can be silly cartoons or meaningful pieces of realism. It can be abstract concepts – like dumping washable paint on the ground and rolling over the canvas in a wheelchair, or taping a banana to a wall. It can be mouth or foot painting. It can be photography or videography done with a drone. The list is endless, but my point is that everyone has the freedom of expression and it is important that we foster creativity, especially in the disability community.
If you have found your way to my website or to my booth at the SCIboston “Power of Art” gala, I want to say thank you! Thank you for your support, interest, and encouragement.
Meet the Artist
If you’re here, that means that you’ve likely read the artist bio in the gala program, which is located in the about page of this website. I am a lot of things to many different people. I “wear a lot of different hats” but I’m honestly just a guy who thinks he’s funnier than he may actually be. I have trialed many different hand-splints to practice traditional & digital art. The Adobe suite and Procreate on my iPad are where I do the bulk of my design work.
Featured Artwork
The Mountain
9″ x 12″ Digital Print on Canvas
I wrote The Mountain shortly after my escape from the hospital – a period of such intense highs and lows.
Spinal cord injury became my proverbial “mountain” and poetry gave me a creative medium to describe this new climb. I wanted to pay tribute in this poem to the activists who came before me and the helping hand that they unknowingly gave me while I navigate this injury.
Additionally, I was incredibly honored to have my poem displayed at a cancer treatment facility by a friend, whose dad was battling brain cancer.
Gabby
16″ x 20″ Digital Print on Canvas
In 2023, my friend’s service dog passed away. I was honored to create this illustration of his pup, Gabby.
To the ones with fur instead of capes, to the quiet heroes with gentle eyes and wagging tails — we honor you. Gabby, you did your job beautifully.
Auction Donation
Winter in the White Mountains
11″ x 14″ Digital Print in frame
No matter where I lived or traveled to while in the Army, home always called to me.
One of my favorite places to visit is the White Mountains of New Hampshire. This illustration depicts my longing to visit the picturesque mountain landscape.
How I Create | Adaptive Tools & Strategies
One of my favorite things about the disability community is our ability to adapt. We are constantly coming up with innovations to help improve our lives. This troubleshooting skill has inspired some impressive products and strategies that can be helpful to foster creativity. Here are some of mine!
Splints and Prosthetics
- Although I did not have access to the product in the featured video, I greatly wish I did when I was in the hospital. The Guided Hands looks like the perfect solution to many physical limitations. If cost is a barrier, there are many grant programs and foundations that would foot this bill. Check out my resource page for a compiled list of disability nonprofits.
- I currently wear a universal cuff with a cloth-tip stylus inserted into it. I found that the cloth-tip works best on the iPad because the rubber-tip styluses tend to break down and leave smears overtime on the screen.
- Of course, if you are using an iPad, then the Apple Pencil is the ideal route to go. See below for how I use this item.
Digital Art and Software
- Most of the work that I do is done on my iPad Pro. It has a 12.9 inch screen, which gives me a large surface area to work with. I wear a few different hand prosthetics to hold the Apple Pencil. Featured in the video is a push glove that holds the pencil tight enough.
- My journey started off with crude illustrations in Procreate on my iPad. Procreate is a raster program, which means that it uses pixels on a bit map. It is a very powerful drawing program, but any raster program has its limitations.
- Now a majority of my work is done in the Adobe suite. Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop are extremely powerful software programs that I navigate using my Wacom Intuos Pro. This drawing tablet works well because the pen does not need to be charged.
Traditional Art
- While I personally drift towards digital art for its adaptability, there is still a natural pull towards traditional mediums. That meant finding ways to hold a paintbrush with my paralyzed hand. This video shows how I do just that.
- I also get good use out of my laser burner, where I upload monochromatic designs and create physical products.
Thank You!
I want to take a minute here to thank all of you and SCIboston for allowing me to display some of my artwork at the annual gala. My goal will always be to promote the use of artwork as therapy. It has changed my life, and I hope that I was able to convey some of its importance here and in person at the event.
Please do not hesitate to reach out if you want to get in touch or have any questions!
Featured Cartoons
2 thoughts on “SCIboston Gala 2025”