PAINTING WITH PARKINSON'S

What you find below is a different take on my usual "Pickin-N-Paintin" posts.  I want to show you some of the paintings I carry in my shop, that are done by a new artist. Since April is National Parkinson's Awareness Month, this post seemed  fitting. Laramie is my partner in business and in life and he just started painting in December of 2011. He has been battling YOPD, Young Onset Parkinson's Disease, for over 13 years now, and painting is his new therapy.  Recently he read an article about people with Parkinson's Disease using painting as a form of therapy and decided to try it for himself. He is an engineer by trade and had never painted before he decided this was something he could do (he's kind of arrogant in that way). Anyway, since I've been painting for years, we had all of the supplies for him to start.  So, without any instruction whatsoever, one day he just picked up a brush and began to paint.
There are many days that he can't paint due to the disease or the side effects of the medicines, but whenever he can, he does. He also suffers from Central Pain Syndrome which also limits his ability to paint whenever he wants.

At best, it seems to help for a while, and it takes his mind off of his conditions as he gets lost in what he is doing. His hand can be shaking with tremors, but as soon as he picks up the brush, it stops.  It seems that he has found his niche in using only two colors and simple lines to represent his subjects. 

Let me just show you some of his paintings, and remember, he only began in December 2011!!!

And, these two below, were Christmas gifts for a couple special ladies.

 Below is taken from "Painting with Parkinson's" by A. Atkin.

HOW DOES PAINTING WITH PARKINSON’S HELP?

When in the creative mode the brain is working subconsciously with low stress levels. Learning new skills helps to keep you active and helps to combat depression.
There is improved mental health.
There is evidence to suggest that Parkinson’s Disease actually enhances creativity
rather than decrease it.  Art activities help you to become physically and mentally relaxed.
Research shows that physiological functions, such as heart rate, blood pressure and
respiration slow when people are deeply involved in an activity they enjoy.
Also making art provides an opportunity for someone to exercise their hands and
their eyes, improve eye‐hand co‐ordination and stimulate neurological pathways
from the brains to the hands.
Stress reduction is also of significant benefit as stress can intensify pain and other
symptoms of disease.

 As I said before, his paintings are for sale in my shop, Candy's Memories, and on Yessy.com under the name TennMo Studios. A portion of the proceeds of the sale of his artwork will be donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Disease.

Other related links are listed below:
http://www.pdf.org/fall08_painting_and_parkinsons
http://vimeo.com/14596334
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ejsuwrdI0I
http://blog.michaeljfox.org/2012/03/painting-for-parkinsons-western-artists-reunite-to-raise-funds-and-awareness-for-team-fox/
http://paulrubyfoundation.org/pfp.html