Man With Alzheimer's Says His Disease Changed His Art
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A Sacramento artist has found himself painting on a brand new canvas these days.
Carlos Luis Olivas Jr. said his Alzheimer's diagnosis is not slowing down his artistic flair. If anything, it's doing just the opposite.
Olivas Jr.'s art collection, which he calls "New Wings," has taken flight at Sacramento's Atrium 916. It's as spectacular as it is spontaneous.
"I just sit down and start doing things," Olivas Jr. said.
The pieces are filled with colors that remain as bright as his outlook on life. A life that's taken a detour after an Alzheimer's diagnosis a few years ago. He doesn't talk much about that, only saying, "I feel good."
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His son tells us Dad's creative flair is helping him find his footing.
"One day he just started opening up and taking pen to paper and creating these unique pieces of artwork that just kind of exploded," Olivas III said.
The collection has an explosion of color that is splattered with a sense of humor. Laughter goes a long way when the road ahead can be long and winding for both patient and loved ones.
Carlos the third is also his dad's caregiver.
"I went through a struggle in the beginning because I would say you don't understand what's really going on," Olivas III said.
To help him understand, he reached out to the Sacramento chapter of the Alzheimer's Association and signing up for a support group. He said it did wonders for him and his dad.
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As an artist on a new path, Olivas Jr. wants others dealing with the same disease to keep this in mind as they frame their "new normal."
They shouldn't give up on anything..shouldn't give up on anything--keep going the way you have in the past and enjoy the life that you have," he said.
