Kevin was a self-taught artist whose style and use of motifs evolved over about a decade. His work tells a story of creativity within suffering.
Reflecting upon his passion for art in a private journal, Kevin remembered a storybook from his childhood in which figures on a magical blanket came alive each night to play. He wrote, “I want to help. I want to heal. I want to inspire wonder. . . I want to share that feeling [of wonder] I had as a child with the world through my artwork.” Kevin hoped to sell prints and a variety of products featuring his designs.
Yet serious mental illness and addiction shaped Kevin’s life and inhibited his plans. Kevin’s strenuous effort to manage his dual illnesses included partial and full psychiatric hospitalizations, outpatient programs, supervised living arrangements, and rehab.
He cared deeply about being a good person and worked very hard to cultivate an “attitude of gratitude” in difficult and often isolating circumstances.
For the last six months of his life, Kevin was blooming. He had achieved and was enjoying remarkable stability in his mental health recovery and sobriety, was relishing independent living, keeping a daily gratitude journal and was hopeful about plans he was making for his future.
In a relapse, an accidental fentanyl/heroin poisoning took his life a few months after his 30th birthday.
To fulfill Kevin’s desire to share his art, to celebrate Kevin’s achievement, and to honor the gift of his life and beautiful spirit, Kevin’s mother has created and maintains this webstore.