Art Therapy Helped Son; Others Next

When Chris Johnson first dipped a brush into a pool of purple paint and dragged it across a piece of paper six years ago, he discovered another way besides a smile to communicate his feelings.

The disabled 22-year-old, who relies on his mother and a digital voice machine to verbalize his thoughts, now uses broad brush strokes and bright colors to provide others with a window into his mind.

His brilliantly colored watercolor and acrylic creations, which usually include his favorite colors rose and purple, also have begun to make a name for Johnson in communities around his Yorba Linda home.

Johnson’s recent 14-piece show at the Placentia Library captured the attention of the City Council, which thanked him earlier this month for “bringing a breath of springtime” into the building with two tickets to Disneyland and a certificate.

One of his pieces will also be on display later this month in MainPlace/Santa Ana mall as part of the Imagination Celebration student artwork exhibit.

His mother, Kathy Johnson, added that she’s working on getting a few of his paintings installed in the children’s section of Bowers Museum in Santa Ana.

The George Key School special needs student, who will graduate in June, spends one morning a week learning new techniques in an Esperanza High School art class and constantly paints at home, his mother said. Like cloud formations, everyone sees something different in Johnson’s paintings.

Esperanza art teacher Sandra Keil said she isn’t surprised by the attention Johnson’s work has drawn.

“He has a wonderful sense of color and there’s a real spontaneity in his work,” said Keil, who encouraged Johnson to join her class. “Things aren’t overworked in his paintings. He’ll sign his name and you’ll know he’s done.”

Although Johnson’s mother is excited about his displays, she’s also thrilled about the positive experience he has in the class.

“He loves it, just his reaction when I say, ‘It’s time to come to Mrs. Keil’s class’ shows it,” she said, watching her son sprinkle salt over a watercolor to give it a rained-on effect.

Johnson’s enthusiasm for the class prompted his parents to work on establishing an art therapy center for disabled students in the area. Through grass-roots fund-raisers, the Johnsons and about 20 other local parents have raised $34,000 of the nearly $45,000 needed to start Creative Options and Diversity of the Arts.

The program, which would receive state funding for operations, would offer arts training for North County disabled students over the age of 18, Kathy Johnson said.

Kathy Johnson, who hopes to see the program in place by January, said she would like other students to have the same opportunity to develop their talents as her son has had.

“Chris has small abilities,” she said. “He can’t cook, or drive. But he has an ability for art and we’d like to develop that for him so he has something that’s his.”