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Cambridge teenager Mikey Allcock first picked up a paintbrush less than a year ago.
The 16-year-old, who has severe autism, revealed a gift for painting, which has led to him having artworks published in journals and on US art websites.
“He’s absolutely amazing,” said his mother Lucy Allcock. “It’s just knocked us over.”
Mikey, who was born in Cambridge, was diagnosed with autism before his second birthday. Ms Allcock was told that “he wouldn’t learn and he won’t amount to much”.
He did not start speaking until he was 10 and he still has very limited language and social skills.
“It would’ve been so easy to just give up on Mikey, to assume that he couldn’t do anything,” said Ms Allcock.
Most of the 20 paintings her son has completed since March feature buildings, towers and railway stations, which are particular loves of his.
Ms Allcock says her son’s autism helps him with his painting.
“I think the attention to detail and how many hours he’s concentrated on buildings and castles has enabled him to really look in a way that we don’t at buildings.
“We just see a boring concrete tower, he sees something wonderful. He just stood in amazement at the new car park at Addenbrooke’s.”
Mikey’s autism also means he can only concentrate for about 10 minutes on a task.
“His attention span is very short; he’ll paint for 10 minutes, go away and come back. Some days he’ll just do 10 minutes a day other times he’ll come back 20 or 30 times,” she said.
Mikey has had several paintings featured on US website The Art of Autism and has had two paintings accepted for publication in a journal about autism.
Ms Allcock says her son has sold a few paintings but mostly he gives them away.
“He painted one of the church we go to” – St Laurence’s Roman Catholic Church on Milton Road – “and he gave it to the deacon because he likes the deacon,” she said.
Painting is not Mikey’s only artistic accomplishment. The teenager took up the piano when he was 11 to loosen his fingers in the hope of helping him with writing and he is due to sit his Grade Five exam in February.
Ms Allcock says Mikey’s artwork has opened up possibilities for him.
She said: “There are very few avenues open for him, because his language is so terrible and his social skills don’t exist. He probably won’t ever be independent. But when I ask him what he wants to do he says he wants to do art and music.
“Maybe I can change a room into a studio he can be a self-employed artist.”
SOURCE: ‘Amazing’ autistic Cambridge teen Mikey Allcock discovers gift for painting | Cambridge News
