Art

Item Description

Jeremy was born in Paris, France in 1989 and diagnosed with autism at an early age. He did not discover his gift for painting until he was 24, when he began to communicate to his parents about the colorful abstract portraits he was painting in his dreams. As a young child, Jeremy’s interest in bright colors was obvious: he spent hours looking at brightly colored fabrics, images in picture books, and the patterns in rugs. He loved visiting museums to look at the paintings, and cathedrals to follow the patterns on the floor tiles. Jeremy had many sensory-motor and vision challenges including peripheral vision. He did not enjoy participating in art activities when younger. He did not like the feeling the texture of finger paint, did not have the motor coordination to move a paintbrush, or squeeze a tube of paint. However, he loved watching the colorful paints in the Art Spinner go round and round and develop into colorful paintings.

Jeremy’s parents were told to find an institution for him. Instead they moved to Berkshire, England and subsequently to San Diego, CA in order to provide him with an education. Jeremy was placed in moderate/severe special education classrooms. By age 17, Jeremy had little speech but learned to type and point to letters at home with his mother. Subsequently his local high school placed him in general education classes. He graduated at age 21 with a full academic diploma, and gave a commencement speech using voice output technology. Jeremy’s story was highlighted on MTV’s documentary series True Life, in the episode, “I Have Autism,” NPR, PBS, The Chicago Tribune, Newsweek, and Fox News. Advocacy for others like him who have no voice is an important part of his life. After high school, Jeremy co-authored a book A Full Life with Autism and served as a Youth Representative to the UN for the Autism Research Institute, an NGO; and as a youth leader for the Autistic Global Initiative.

Jeremy discovered he had synesthesia in 2011, when he explained to his mother for the first time that he saw letters, numbers, words and emotions in color. In August 2012, Jeremy began to communicate about the dreams he was having: dreams that he was painting the emotions of people he had met into colorful portraits. One night he had a dream that he painted ten of his paintings and had an art show. He asked his mom if this could come true, and she encouraged him to paint in real life. In April 2016 his first curated solo art show was held at Space4Art in San Diego and was covered by national media including People.com, NBC, ABC, Good Morning America and thecreatorsproject.vice.com. Currently Jeremy meets people in person at his art studio at Space4Art or online, and then paints to recreate the portrait envisioned while dreaming. Jeremy uses acrylic paint on wood panels and large canvases. Watch Jeremy paint.

The Beautiful Colors of Izzy and Surfers Healing ~ by Jeremy Sicile-Kira (2016)

Greatly I dreamt I painted the colors of wonderful Izzy and the Surfers Healing crew. Beautiful blue like the sky really greatly was present realizing and representing the surfer's skill. Truly white like the water waves when they crash represents the hope of the catching a wave. Orange represents the fun we all have in the water. Dark green is for the calm we feel after spending time in the water. Yellow is for the happiness all of us (children, teens, adults and the surfers) feel at the thought of being free in the water. Kind lavender is frankly for the caring way the crew and Izzy help us on the surfboards. Dark blue is for the ever-changing color of the ocean. Bright green is for the fish living in the water that swim below us. Red is for the anxiety I feel at first when getting on the board. Pink is for the love we all feel.  Gold and silver representing the hand of God is very present.

Jeremy has recently recognized as one of the finalists in Redwood Media Group’s 2016 [PLATFORM] Artist of the Year contest. The contest is produced in partnership with Art Brand Studios and is the premier awards contest for visual artists looking to become the next big art-world discovery. 

The board is an 8'2" fun gun shaped by Slick. In order to be prepared for painting, it was sanded and then later glassed by  Joe Roper's Custom Surfboard and Sub Repair Shop. 

Item Special Note

Packing, shipping and handling are not included. Boards can be picked up at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel or purchaser can arrange for shipping. Boards will be available for pick up or shipping on, or after, Monday, January 2, 2017.  All boards must be picked up or shipped no later than Friday, January 30, 2017.