Justin Canha has a neurological disorder called Autism, which
severely affects his functioning. While his verbal communication
skills were heavily compromised as a child, Justin would draw
different scenarios to express what had happened to him. The
drawings served as a bridge to verbal expression. Justin's
parents discovered that he had been blessed with an innate
artistic talent. Since age 5, Justin has had a passion for
drawing animals and cartoon characters.
His body of work includes still-life, landscapes, portraits, buildings, and
florals in a variety of media including watercolors, pastels, charcoal, and
oils. Also, Justin taught himself how to create computer animations, some having
up to 200 frames per cartoon.
Justin has been commissioned for specific works. His favorite is doing pet
portraits, though he has been commissioned to draw buildings and portraits of
people as well. By popular request, a Christmas scene Justin drew was made into
a Christmas card. 1000 cards were sold the first year and 2000 other holiday
cards were sold last year.
There has been an increasing interest in Justin's computer animations. He
mixes his own characters with his old time favorites and creates action packed
animations of up to 200 frames apiece.
If you were to ask Justin what he wants to be as an adult, he would
confidently answer, "An illustrator and a computer animator." It is his parents'
fervent prayer that he will achieve his dream. Through Arts Unbound, Justin has
attracted the attention of the mainstream art community in New York City.
At age 15, he participated in a month long art show at Ricco/Maresca Gallery in
the city in January 2005 and had his own one-man show during the following year.
This is extremely unusual for even professional artists who have worked a
lifetime on their art. For Justin, at age 15 to make a name for himself and
command enough respect to support a one-man-show at an internationally renowned
gallery is nothing short of amazing. The attention that Justin will receive in
the international art scene will go a long way to demonstrate the power of Arts
Unbound to generate attention and respect for artists living with disabilities.
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