Artist Statement

I have loved art since I was a little girl. The things that inspired me most were the colors I saw when I closed my eyes, the exhilarating experiences around me. Growing up on the Autism Spectrum the world was a very overwhelming place, and I often needed to process my thoughts through colors and lines. I used to fiddle with plastic Mardi Gras beads to cope with all of the sensory demands of the world. Playing with my beads helped me process my creative thoughts and turn them into ideas. These moments of lying down on my bedroom floor and staring at the swirling colors of the beads above me inspired me to write, draw and paint, and perform. Their colors and long lines would fascinate me. How bright, how beautiful, how perfect they were. How we must preserve such organized, yet flowing beauty. How incredible it is that we can create all kinds of different colors and shapes. This is what lead me to begin painting in my current style.

When I paint I am processing my day, emotions, or thoughts while translating them into colors I love. When I paint I feel that processing my life helps me tell a visual story in exactly the way I want to. Each of my paintings is a compilation of all of my thoughts from all of the various times I worked on that painting. I consider each of my paintings to be a journey – like life, my paintings go through ups and downs of creativity, passion, moods, stories and days. I hope that you interpret them in your way and enjoy looking at them!

Artist Bio

Rebecca Florence Newman is an abstract artist who works with acrylic paint. Newman’s art is based on her interpretation of an overstimulating and scary; yet colorful and joyful world. Newman, who is on the autism spectrum, began taking therapeutic art lessons in middle school. Her art teachers realized her talent and she began taking traditional art lessons in 8th grade and high school. To this day she paints to unwind as she gets inspired by the many beautiful colors and shapes in our world from nature, to clothes to food. In addition to her painting, Newman is pursuing a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of San Francisco.