View Gridby: Patricia Beltran
Weston, Florida

"To fight for yourself is preservation, to fight for another is compassion."
quote by: Dorian C., 9th Grade, Pine View School, Sarasota, Florida
This piece represents the unconditional love that parents and caregivers give to an autistic person who could be a child or an adult. The blue baby swan represents not only the blue color symbolizing autism, but also celebrates uniqueness and the acceptance of differences. As the mom of an autistic child, I painted this with my heart. I am happy to transmit my own feelings of unconditional love and to share the important message of autism awareness with others. In this particular piece, I painted the surroundings in monochromatic values to distinguish the baby swan as the center of attention. The different textures, accomplished by the use of a palette knife, created dimension and a sense of movement. The heavy strokes of my palette knife techniques stand in contrast to the lightness of the white swan’s feathers.
Click here for an original student monologue inspired by this artwork.