Step Into Her Suffering : Art Provides Escape, Enlightenment After Head Injury

Halina Douglas’ vivid watercolors appear to be the work of an accomplished artist rather than a legal secretary who suffered a brain injury eight years ago.

Douglas, who was injured when a sign fell on her, said she does not remember painting some of the 13 watercolors that bear her signature.

But on Saturday, her paintings were on one-day display at a regional seminar in San Diego that was co-sponsored by the national Brain Injury Assn. to show what people with brain injuries can accomplish.

Douglas, 52, said that because of her injury she has trouble reading and writing. She began painting as a way to express her feelings. Even though the paintings appear to be of high quality, they carry a different meaning to Douglas.

“I invite you to step into the suffering,” said the blonde and petite Douglas, who still speaks with the accent of her native Ukraine. “I don’t see it as paintings.”

The watercolors depict the events and people Douglas met in the wake of her injury, and they are critical of the doctors, lawyers and therapists she said are more concerned with earning money than helping victims.

Her first watercolor, painted in 1994 and entitled “Intimidation Versus Information,” depicts an unfriendly doctor trying to assess the extent of Douglas’ injuries. In the painting, Douglas cowers beneath the leering doctor, whose oversized hands appear ready to crush her head.

The colorful and distorted figures almost make the recovery process seem whimsical. The paintings closely resemble those of artist Marc Chagall, a Russian who is known for his cartoon-like figures.

About one-fourth of those who suffer from brain injuries make use of art therapy, said George A. Zitnay, president of the Brain Injury Assn. (Zitnay’s organization used to be called the National Head Injury Foundation, but it recently changed its name to better reflect the injuries suffered.)

Zitnay said art--from basket weaving to painting--is used to help brain-injured people regain physical skills and assist them in expressing their feelings.

“Art is a good medium--you can see what you’re doing,” Zitnay said. “People may not be able to remember the car accident they were in, but through art they can visualize it.”

Zitnay said it is not uncommon for someone to create a work of art and later forget the experience.

Elizabeth Alexander, who heads the Brain Injury Assn.’s California chapter, said she asked Douglas to display her work because it is “pretty phenomenal” for someone with no artistic training. She also said she hopes Douglas’ work inspires others with brain injuries “to demonstrate that when they put their full determination toward something, they can do it.”

People have offered to buy her paintings, Douglas said, but she has refused. She said she will consider selling them only to benefit charity.

The night of her injury, Douglas said, she had gone to Sizzler to celebrate her certification as a paralegal when the menu sign fell on her right eyebrow. That was in 1988.

“It felt like a big truck moved through your head . . . and I fogged up,” she said.

Douglas eventually settled for $550,000, but she has asked a court to reconsider the settlement because the injury had left her incompetent at the time she accepted.

After the brain injury, Douglas said, she tried to return to work but was fired when she failed to take down accurate phone messages and sent packages to the wrong locations.

Frustrated with her slow recovery, Douglas began doodling. The doodling led to sketches and the sketches to watercolors.

The first few paintings depict scenarios with the therapists and other professionals, while the next set depicts Douglas’ deepening depression. More recent paintings are somewhat upbeat, and her latest work shows a beaming Douglas.

“Even today, I want to take the pictures out and put more into it,” Douglas said. “I don’t feel like I’m finished.”