Living with a disability as an artist
Living with a disability has never been easy. Using a wheelchair means that every day requires a little more planning, patience, and problem-solving than most people realise. Going on a stroll using the sidewalk is not always ‘a walk in the park’; sometimes there is a crack, or there are obstacles in the way, a step I did not expect, and so on. I have the same experience going to my family’s or a friend’s house. Stairs, steps, and narrow doorways are everywhere I go. These physical obstacles are part of my daily life, yet I do not let them stop me in any way.
My physical limitations and a world not fully made to help people with disabilities have made me more resourceful, creative, and resilient. Navigating everyday spaces has taught me to look at the world differently. To see the good and the bad, and to decide how this will affect me mentally and physically. I have learned to appreciate the small moments that I can experience when doing ‘normal’ things, especially those moments that often go unnoticed—the way light falls across a wall, a flower growing through a crack in the sidewalk, the texture of a weathered fence, or a lizard frolicking on a quiet, ordinary afternoon.
Art has become a way for me to collect these moments. To make a whole new world where all things are possible. I love taking pictures of details that others might overlook and using them later as references in my paintings. These seemingly ordinary fragments of life become part of my visual archive, finding their way into imagined landscapes and intimate scenes.
Because I cannot access nature as freely as I would like, it has become even more meaningful to me. Rather than simply painting what I see, I use nature as a conduit to my internal world. Plants, animals, water, and light become symbols of innocence, longing, resilience, and hope. They allow me to express emotions and experiences that words often cannot.
My disability has shaped the way I move through the world, but it has also shaped the way I see it. It has taught me to slow down, to notice beauty in unexpected places, and to create from a point of view that is personal. Every painting, drawing, print, and digital design I make is, in some way, a reflection of that journey.
