As Chris Vines battles the side effects of surviving cancer three times, including losing his sight, and permanent kidney damage, the sketch artist is using his lifelong passion to bring joy to others.
“We found out about his hidden talent a few months ago when he decided to start sharing his drawings,” clinical nurse Sharon Carlin said.
“[For] people with chronic health conditions, it takes up a lot of their time, and to have a little bit of light relief every now and then is great for them and great for the staff too.”
Ms Carlin is one of the nurses that Mr Vines has come to know on a first-name basis since starting kidney dialysis earlier this year at Hervey Bay Hospital’s renal unit, a three-hour drive north of Brisbane.
The legally blind 81-year-old spends about 15 hours a week hooked up to a dialysis machine in a critical care ward.
“Very happy with being alive,” Mr Vines says as he patiently waits for dialysis, while pondering his next finely detailed masterpiece that he’ll create when he gets home.
“[He] gets them printed on the nicest paper he can find, and then brings in these secret envelopes, drops them at the desk and doesn’t say anything,” Ms Carlin said.
“You know he’s been working hard because those eyes don’t work as well as they used to.”
Art as therapy
Mr Vines, who’s had a lifelong passion for art, has been without vision in his left eye since 2016 but that hasn’t stopped the sketch artist from bringing his visions to life.
He draws on his own inspiration or takes requests from nurses, doctors or other patients.
“He’s drawn a sloth, he’s drawn an eagle, a magpie, a kookaburra — anything that you ask,” Ms Carlin said.
“He’s very modest about it all but he has brought smiles and sunshine to everyone in there, it makes their day a little brighter.”
Mr Vines was first diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1995 and had chemotherapy then, and when the cancer returned in 2001 and 2008.
He said side effects of the rigorous treatment included losing the vision in his left eye in 2016 and, more recently, myopathy in his legs, and kidney damage.
The creative outlet — and giving to others — helps take his mind off a complicated medical history.
“I just concentrate on the drawing and it takes my mind off all my problems, makes life easy … relaxing,” Mr Vines said.
“I don’t need a picture — I can just draw.”
Blindness no barrier
Vision Australia said there is a misconception that vision-impaired people are restricted from creating art.
“I think that people who have low vision or blindness are just as creative, if not more so … they naturally have to problem solve around their limitations,” spokesperson Harmonie Downes said.
“It is quite common for artists to want to engage in these hobbies because it allows them to communicate their perception of reality.”
Ms Downes, a fellow artist who was born with congenital bilateral cataracts, said Mr Vines’s low vision put him in the company of history’s greatest artists.
“Claude Monet was diagnosed with cataracts in 1920,” she said.
“As his cataracts progressed, his paintings softened and he was able to create a whole different genre that is pretty much printed on every bed cover, card, you see today.
“El Greco had astigmatism … and everyone knows Picasso — as his vision decreased, he deep dived into tactile elements.”
Access Art Queensland said creative pursuits could give purpose and a “sense of belonging” to people living with disability.
“Having a project that makes them say, ‘I have this thing that I need to put out into the world, either to help my own community or to bring joy into the world’, can help them get out of bed in the morning,” manager Tim Brown said.
“It’s important for people to not be afraid to give something a go if it is a passion; there will always be a community similar to you.”
Mr Vines said his community continued to grow the more he shared his work.
“I’ve given people pictures, why not?” he said.
“I’d rather give them away to people and make them happy.”
Get our local newsletter, delivered free each Thursday
