it and if they dont have brushes theyll just paint with their fingers its their raw passion and lack of knowledge of art history that separates their work from trained artists take the example of udaikumar a 37yearold selftaught painter from chennai who suffers from a neuromuscular degenerative disease it means he has a curved spine and cannot use his lower limbs yet he has exhibited his works at seven art shows in his hometown i use pillows for support and since its only my right wrist that has restricted movement i hold the brush with my index finger and thumb to paint he explains he learnt to paint simply as a hobby and as an exercise for his numb fingers but what began as a silent expression on the canvas to express his sufferings soon turned into art that could not be confined to his room the monotone sketches and acrylics depict impressionist landscapes and portraits making selfportraits is the most challenging task says udaikumar who had picked up the nuances of painting after attending a workshop held by the famous artist km adimoolam psychiatrist dr jitendra nagpal believes theres always scope for an untapped artist to emerge out of anyone art is an exploration of the psyche once you let your innermost desires and instincts take over you may get to know a side of you that you didnt know about he says in case of mentally unstable people it is a reflection of their innermost traumas some of the worlds leading artists writers and theorists have had mental health problems vincent van gogh the dutch painter john nash the american mathematician even the eccentric and prolific austrian composer mozart dr nagpal adds art is a common expression and cure in cases of cerebral palsy autism and mental retardation people who suffer from these ailments often cant express themselves through words they can only communicate through their works of art renowned delhibased art critic johny ml who had organised a project called expressions at tihar for the tihar jail inmates a couple of years ago feels its unfair to label any art form as outsider his project took contemporary artists inside a prison to work alongside the undertrials and convicts he says the idea was to break the wall between established artists and beginners to tap their potential we also wanted to convey through this project that its never too late to bring out the artist in yousome famous outsider artists james hampton 19091964 was an africanamerican janitor who secretly built a large assemblage of religious art from scavenged materials miroslav tich 19262011 was a photographer who took thousands of surreptitious pictures of women in his hometown of kyjov in the czech republic using homemade cameras constructed out of cardboard tubes tin cans and other athand materials michael edward mikey welsh 19712011 was an american artist and musician he attacked his canvases with pure spontaneity and aggression almost never using a brush and preferring to work only