“I am a survivor – so far. Not so much because of being trapped at home by the pandemic, but because of being trapped inside my own body. I suffer from a serious condition that forced me to leave my tech career at its pinnacle; at a time when I was receiving accolades for my designs worldwide.

However, after exhausting my savings, my retirement fund, my fiancé leaving me, several deaths in my family, and my co-workers (who were also my friends) leaving my area for work, I have spent the past nine years alone. Not just alone, but confined to one room in my home for seven out of those nine years. Alone every holiday of each of those years. Starving periodically.

After nearly a decade of being alone in a fight for survival, things are finally starting to look up for me. I’ve been able to acquire government assistance for disabled people. But I’m still fighting for my home. In part because I have no place else to go and in part because I have no way physically to get out of my home. So the fight for survival continues.

What I attribute to my survival over these years and my remaining mental health is the art I have taken up to cope with it. I used to draw realism, ever since I was a tot. I became good at it, but felt I was only a copy machine. Then, almost two years ago, I decided to try abstract art. And I failed – miserably! But this is where abstract art starts. It requires absolute creativity to combine random elements and colors into something that inspires, or makes someone feel, or is just visually pleasing.

As I gradually grew bolder, both as an artist and in terms of self-confidence, I decided to leverage my advanced mathematics degree, programming experience, and various programs already available on the consumer market to create my abstract designs.

I highly recommend it for anyone feeling depressed, trapped, lonely, or with chronic disabilities. And I would love to point any of you in similar situations needing help in the right direction to start your own abstract art journey to mental health recovery.

Kindly take a moment to have a look at my recent artwork – and if you like what you see, consider giving me a like or a follow. I have much more art, just not on my abstract Instagram page. Thanks for reading.”

https://www.instagram.com/billfrombuffalo/