The Story Behind The Painting "Birds of a Feather"

Recently I finished a new painting that I actually started on years ago when the forest fires were ravaging the Amazon Rain Forest. I wanted to create a painting that would draw people's attention to the Rain forest including the birds, wildlife, plants and even the people that call the Amazon Rain Forest their home. I have always had a love for Brazil, Ecuador, The Amazon Rain Forest and Wildlife and birds of the Amazon Rain Forest so this was my way of raising awareness to protect this very fragile ecosystem.

You never know how or who your life is going to influence but before this painting was even completed, it already had an attentive audience that embraced the characters in this painting and literally made them fly off the page.

I had shown some of my work to a friend who ministers to children who are terminally ill cancer patients in a cancer center in Tennessee. She showed my work to the kids in the cancer ward and it was like the kids took flight themselves and wanted to start painting, started making Macaw bird sounds when they saw the red Macaw and suddenly, every child embraced the artist in themselves and wanted to paint. There was paint on the floors, paint on places where there should not be paint and the kids were having a blast and the hospital staff embraced their new found creativity and anything that took their minds off the fact that they were sick with cancer.

His Lizardness will see you now

Of the three main characters in this painting, there is one character that my friend did not notice. At least not right away. Probably because he is small and green and blends in with the other green plants, leaves, trees and vines in the Amazon Rain forest as many of its inhabitants do. The Character was a green Lizard resting on a vine in the middle of the painting. My friend did not see this lizard but the kids sure did and so did some of the hospital staff. Before I could even imagine what was happening, "Larrye The Lizard" was born and created in the mind of these children. They even spelled his name differently to give him a bit of an edgy life of its own.

The kids embraced this character, gave him a name and started to draw pictures of him and talk about him like they found a new friend. However, the kids were not the only ones to embrace this new found mascot of theirs.

A Man called “Junior”

In this hospital ward, roams a man named Junior who is big and strong enough to bench press three people at the same time. He is the head of security over this hospital and a wonderful soul who loves these kids so when he saw what was happening, he too embraced this newly adapted friend and would come up with some of the most creative ways to have fun with the kids. One day my friend showed up at the hospital to be met by Junior who informed her “His Lizardness will see you now” while bearing a big grin. “His Lizardness????” My friend replied? Every day at the hospital was a new adventure in “Where’s Larrye?”. Larrye would show up at the top of a ceiling, in an elevator, on top of kids heads, in someone’s office, Larrye was a hit and the whole staff at the hospital embraced him. Some days Junior would walk around saying “I can’t find Larrye” to the puzzled look of my friend who had no idea what to expect when she showed up at the hospital.

All of this from a simple painting. A painting that inspired kids to embrace art, the birds and Larrye The Lizard. Larrye has become a household name here at this hospital among the staff and they seem to not be running out of their enthusiasm any time soon. I have heard about Art Therapy and how it can be used to help heal children who are sick or depressed or having anxiety. I just never saw it happen from one of my own works. Now I have experienced first hand the best case study I have ever seen of art bringing joy and healing from my home in Florida to a cancer center in Tennessee.

Lessons Learned

For me, this was not just an unexpected surprise but the wish of everyone who calls themselves a painter or dare say, an artist. To mold, shape and make a difference in someone’s life and bring happiness, laughter, joy and healing, even for just a day, a week, a month or a lifetime, however long that joy lasts. It took me several years to make this painting. Mainly because in my home, I had my own cancer patient, my wife to take care of until she passed away, along with juggling career and personal life. The dream of being an illustrator and artist was put on the back burner for many years until it was time to wipe off the dust and put on a fresh coat of paint. For me, this was a big milestone. Timing is everything someone once said.

If I had completed this painting years ago, it may not have been seen by the children in this cancer center. Blessings do come as just a month ago, I met an Artist Mentor to mentor me in my work and then to experience from a distance, the kids at this hospital, a new found friend and of course, a man called Junior shall lead them. You cannot make these things up. As creative as I try to be, I could not even begin to write this story from a blank page. Somebody bigger than you and I wrote this story for me. I just hope you find joy in it and find it worth the reading. Art truly can bring healing and make a child laugh, smile, dream and truly live the way their lives were meant to be lived another day. I am grateful for these kids and my new found friends that gave me inspiration to keep working on my craft and hopefully bring some joy into their lives and let their imaginations run free as children are meant to do.