Art is an expression which can easily transfer power of visualization into reality. Each of us can interpret art as we wish. Mikey also admires art which gives him power to understand and define it in his own terms. Being an autistic kid who did not speak until age 10 Mikey also went through same cycle of struggles. However, his never give up attitude allowed him to become a good artist. He is not only a gifted painter but also an accomplished pianist. His attention to detail showsin his amazing painting of buildings and towers. We are proud of Mikey’s artistic skills and detailed eye catching paintings.

What do you like about art? How did you learn to paint so beautifully?M: What I like about art made by other people is being able to see it the way I want to see it. Nobody can really tell you what to see, what it means. For example, if you stand and look at a huge Rothko colour field it is what it means to you. When you are autistic that feels so good. Most of the time other people are telling you what things mean but with art it is different. When I am painting I like that I can make the picture in my head slowly appear on the paper. I paint things that I like, things that are important to me and if someone else likes the picture it is great. It is hard to share pictures in your head but when you paint you can share.
I don't know really. I didn't draw or paint anything until a couple of years ago. I just didn't think to try. Mostly I didn't go to school and didn't have any art lessons and in home school I learned about things in different ways. I have always liked buildings and the way that if you look at it differently, higher, lower, round the corner you can change the perspective, the way it looks. That is so interesting and something I have done since I was a little kid. I collect crayons and just decided to use them to put the different angles and ways of looking on paper. That was how my art started.

Which is your favorite piece of work and why?M: I don't really have a favourite. If I make a painting that I don't like then I don't keep it. If it doesn't match what is in my head it seems wrong and out of place and it just irritates me until I throw it away. There is so much stuff that I like by other artists. At the moment I am finding recent Dada art very interesting. It makes you think. You find things put together that do not belong together, like something of worth next to some piece of flotsam. That makes you think about value. Recently I was looking at a piece of art by Robert Rauschenberg called erased de Kooning. Rauschenberg took a piece of art by de Kooning that was considered excellent and valuable. Rauschenberg also admired and valued de Kooning's art and so spent weeks erasing the work. The result is an empty frame. It makes you think about the value of art and what is art. You can think about what the artist is giving you - perhaps he is giving you the space to make your own art, your own story.

Who is your favorite artist? If you have to draw painting of your favorite artist, which will you draw and how will the painting be different?M: I don't really have a favourite artist. I like particular styles. I like art that allows you to find the story yourself. To find the story in the colours, objects, shapes. Art, like Dada, that really makes you think and often laugh. I have enjoyed the work of Robert Rauschenberg, Kurt Schwitters and some Jasper Johns is pretty amazing. I like to see art made of ordinary, everyday stuff. Also I like sculpture particularly the smooth lines of many of Antony Gormley's figures. And photography. I went to an exhibition by Alex Soth, it was amazing - it was called Sleeping by the Mississippi. He had photos of a bed in all sorts of places mixed with other images of people and landscape. The images danced back and forwards in your head like a dream coming to play. I still laugh when I think about it. I don't think I would try to draw or copy anything by artists that I like. The art is like something they give you, something for you to think about to have fun with and keep in your mind. It is a gift.

What is your favorite composition to play on a piano? How long do you usually practice?M: Again, I like many composers. It might depend how I feel that day. I like classical, baroque and some jazz and modern. Today I am enjoying playing the Russian composer Kabalevsky. His piece Kavaleriiskaya (Cavalryman) sounds just like horses charging along. It is very exciting and a lot of fun to play. I might try to play this with no errors and put it on my website. I don't really have a set practice time. I play everyday. If I have an exam coming up I spend more time going through the scales and stuff but mostly I just like to play pieces. I find it very easy to remember music and when I have played a piece a few times I can just play it without the music. I enjoy playing.

What are your other hobbies?M: I like collecting things. I have collections of coins, train maps and timetables, Crayola crayons, crime novels by certain authors, Fighting Fantasy books, Now CDs, maps and lots more things. I also find it relaxing to arrange and rearrange my collections. I also have a collections of debris. My debris is little bits of metal that I have been picking up off the street since I was a little kid. I like my debris collection because it is all little bits of something that was bigger - maybe a machine or a bit of jewellery. Things that were one day special but are broken and have been discarded. They are all different and interesting and I don't think it matters that it is no longer part of the complete thing. Anyway each bit is special to me. I like trains, railway stations, the London underground and riding in elevators. I like church and going swimming. And castles - you can sit in a tumbledown castle and see so many stories and feel how people would go in to the castle to try to be safe.

What is your favorite place to visit?M: London. It has so many museums and galleries and the whole place is joined up by trains. It is wonderful. In London, I like the Tate Modern gallery. It is huge square sort of building filled with modern art. There is a room full of Rothko. There is lots of fun sculpture, combines and compositions to make you think. It is a great place.

What do you like to do when you are with your family?M: I pretty much go everywhere with someone from my family. It feels safer and I am happier if someone is there. I know sometimes I am hard to understand and it is helpful if I have another voice. It also helps if I get too excited or stressed or upset to have someone who knows and cares with me to suggest other things to do for a while like go to a cafe, find a train to watch or take a walk. I don't really have any friends.

What is your favorite movie?M: I don't have one. I don't watch films or much TV. I find the talking and the stories move too fast. It gets confusing and I don't enjoy them. The only sort of TV I might watch is quiz shows because I like to remember all the scores. I also like the opening sofa scenes on The Simpsons. I have remembered all these and which series and episode they come from. Stuff like that is fun.

Any special message for our community?M: That is hard but I have one about art. Don't let other people tell you how to look at things. When I was a small kid it was 'look at it properly, you could not have seen it that fast', 'don't look at it sideways and all squinty eyed' and so on and so on. I look at the art or the building the way that I can see it, enjoy it and remember it. Also don't let other people tell you what things mean. Find your own story in the painting, the sculpture or the photograph. That is what the artist is giving you.