Calgary artist with autism finds self-expression through painting

In the basement of his family's Calgary home, 24-year-old Alex Ghebreyohans is surrounded by the world he has created. (Kathy Le/CTV News)

CALGARY - In the basement of his family’s Calgary home, 24-year-old Alex Ghebreyohans is surrounded by the world he has created. The walls are covered with his intricate charcoal portraits and colourful oil paintings.

Ghebreyohans who has autism and uses very few spoken words, is an artist whose drawings have become a powerful way for him to express himself.

When asked what he likes to draw, Ghebreyohans offered a rare glimpse through words.

“Portrait... landscape... animal,” he said.

The youngest child of four, Ghebreyohans was diagnosed at 18 months old.

“Alex is a gift from God,” said his mother, Natsenet Adhanom. “He is a gift for me.”

Adhanom and her husband, Tekhlit Melss, say the diagnosis was initially difficult to process, but their commitment to supporting their son remained unwavering.

Early on it became clear Alex loved to draw.

His father remembers his son drawing on almost any surface he could find.

“At the home, everything — even the walls, the floor,” Melss said.

As Ghebreyohans’ interest in art grew, so did his family’s commitment to helping him develop it. He took art classes throughout school and after he graduated from Grade 12, his parents dedicated time to furthering his craft.

Every other week Ghebreyohans’ parents drive him roughly three hours from Calgary to Edmonton for art lessons, staying overnight in a hotel so he can spend the weekend working with his longtime teacher, Festum Teclemariam.

Melss said his son’s concentration can be extraordinary.

“Saturday: five hours. Sunday: five hours,” he said, describing Alex’s weekend classes. “After that, 10 hours. Nonstop.”

Melss said Alex can become so immersed in his work that he will stand and paint for hours without taking a break.

Teclemariam has worked with Alex for seven years and said he stands out among the hundreds of students who have passed through his studio.

“He is one of the best,” Teclemariam said.

The art teacher said Alex already had an internal drive to create when they began working together. His role, he said, was to nurture it.

“He has something that is driving him,” Teclemariam said. “Then I have to ignite the light — you know, the fire. That’s what I did.”

That dedication has resulted in a growing body of work. Some pieces take months to complete, ranging from charcoal drawings to oil paintings depicting landscapes and scenes connected to his family’s Eritrean heritage.

Many of those works were recently featured in an art exhibition — a dream his parents were proud to see come to fruition.

“We’re so happy,” Adhanom said.

But for Alex’s family, the exhibition represented more than an artistic milestone. They hope his accomplishments can encourage other parents raising children with special needs to embrace them, nurture their strengths and give them opportunities to discover their potential.

“If they can support them — mom and dad — they will change," Adhanom said, referring to the difference parental encouragement and support can make in a child’s development.

For Alex’s parents, the exhibition was just the start to his artistic journey.

One day, they hope their son will have a studio of his own — a place where he can continue painting and expressing himself through the art that has become such an important part of his life.