You’ve seen the look on a young person’s face when they see a book illustration they like. It’s as if they found a valuable treasure! Imagine being able to use illustration for healing.

Two years ago I had the honor of being asked to create a mural for a new hospital wing at Orange Regional Medical Center in Middletown, NY. They were about to break ground on a new Pediatric Emergency Unit and the art curator at the hospital had seen my illustrations in some books. She contacted me and that got the ball rolling. She wanted a Hudson Valley landscape on the entrance walls, one that would set a cheerful tone for the environment in the waiting area. I started doing some research on visual healing and the arts in hospitals. In the course of reading various articles the concept for going beyond a pretty landscape came to me. The hospital was familiar with my nature illustrations, so why not combine illustration with the fine art they wanted.

The woodlands of the Hudson Valley are filled with beautiful and interesting flora and fauna providing the perfect elements for story telling. I decided that the viewers, mostly children,, would take a walk along the thirty foot mural and be able to encounter many native creatures – a deer, a fox, a crow, an owl, a grasshopper, etc… and I would use those creatures to tell some fables. The result was, “The Fabled Forest Mural”, ten familiar Aesop’s Fables are depicted such as The Frogs Who Wanted A King, The Fox and The Crow, The Ants and The Grasshopper. The mural set the tone for a graphic woodland path which I helped design, featuring vinyl cutouts of animal silhouettes in the floor along the path. Four months of non-stop painting resulted in a mural that is loved by everyone who encounters it. The therapists at the hospital bring people to view it and talk about the stories. I’m currently working on a field guide for the mural.

A couple of moths ago the Picture Book Artists Association–PBAA.org–was asked by Montefiore Children’s Hospital if any members would be willing to donate an illustration to a project for their Healing Arts program. I said yes immediately as did other artists in the group. I suggested a nature theme, having learned the healing power of such images and we set off to create line drawings to be included in a coloring book for young patients in the hospital. I did the cover art for the project too, knowing how valuable all of the art would be to the children.

As an illustrator I’m busy meeting deadlines for picture books which I love doing, but every so often it’s nice to stop and recognize the effect that illustration has on young people beyond the pages of a story book. Illustrations create the setting for a mind to wander and dream. Maybe, for a while, to forget about a sad situation and imagine a happier one. An illustrator’s skills can be valuable outside of the world of publishing so don’t hesitate to look for the opportunity to use illustration as an instrument healing when you can.

Visit fabledforestmural.blogspot.com to learn more about the mural and watch videos of
the painting process.