Guest Post by Olga Bogdashina

In January 2023, I started “art classes” with my autistic son to aid his development and expression. As someone who hadn’t touched a brush since my early school years—when my first and only “masterpiece” at the age of seven paled in comparison to my classmates’ works—I felt talentless and… lost interest in art activities.
But as the saying goes, it’s never too late to learn. So, we began our artistic adventure together, learning and growing side by side.

My initial choice of medium, watercolours, seemed like the easiest option for beginners. However, my lack of experience quickly became apparent. To mitigate our potential disappointment, I chose abstract themes for our first projects, allowing us to explore creativity without the pressure of realism. Our first endeavour was painting ‘Cosmos’. Here are our initial attempts:

As we continued, our creations improved—not because of any newfound teaching skills on my part, but thanks to the guidance of our mentor, Ian Wilson, an artist experienced in working with autistic individuals. He suggested we try acrylics, a medium that proved to be easier to use for beginners than watercolours. We continued with abstract themes, then exploring ‘Cosmos’ and other themes with renewed enthusiasm.

This activity soon revealed its deeper value. Beyond fostering creativity, it enhanced our communication skills. Sitting side by side, without the pressure of direct eye contact, we could freely discuss our plans, from colour choices to future spring outings. Even the messes we made became part of the fun, especially when cleaning up together. The more we did this, the more I realised how valuable this activity was.

A Spoonful of Colour: Discovering Spoon Painting with Acrylics

Our artistic adventures didn’t stop there. Always eager to experiment, we ventured into the unconventional world of spoon painting. Yes, you read that right—painting with spoons! I was assured this technique would make painting flowers with acrylics both simple and enjoyable. Well, enjoyable it certainly was, but simple? Not quite!

With great anticipation, my son and I selected a reference picture and set to work. After 40 minutes of intense concentration, we produced our spoon-painted masterpieces. What’s interesting is that we had created two distinct pieces of art. 😊

I couldn’t help but proudly showcase both paintings to some friends, confidently declaring that my son’s work outshone mine. They unanimously agreed, without even asking which painting was whose. How on earth did they manage to guess correctly?

Now, can you tell which painting belongs to whom?