Inspiring Chicago painter Anthony Bartley shares the healing power of art

CBS News

5 days ago

A Chicago artist says painting is more than his craft, it's what healed him when he needed it most.
Anthony Bartley grew up on Chicago's South Side, and his story is pretty remarkable.
"Painting takes me to a different place where I don't, in that moment, have to exist anywhere else. I can kind of just be one with the canvas," he said.
Bartley's paintings are visual records of his feelings. They often begin with journal entries.
"Sometimes those descriptions give me visuals. There is a strong enough visual that I can kind of go back and reflect on it and sketch from it," he said.
Once a kid who loved comic books and video games, his art now shows his intense love of color and shape, symbolism and deep thought, including a piece called "Archaeology of Self."
"This explorer who has found something ancient, but something that is very familiar," he said. "One of the things that a lot of people have said about this is that they can hear this painting."
Bartley's work speaks to him in many ways as a form of therapy. That began at 2 a.m., March 17, 2017.
"That was the first time that I would try to take my own life," he said.
Bartley was in college, studying biology at Washington University. He had struggled with depression before. That morning, in the dark, he stood alone on the ledge of a building, but that didn't feel right.
"I stopped myself, and went back to my dorm room. So for the next I want to say eight hours, maybe, I just painted," he said. "I have no idea why I had that canvas specifically. I wasn't taking an art class in college at the time, or anything."
Bartley painted a self-portrait he still has to this day.
"I went to class the next morning like nothing happened," he said.
But so much had happened.
"Looking back, I can see that's the start point of the healing journey," he said. "When I'm painting, the kind of therapeutic part of it is the physicality of actually laying the brushes against the canvas."
As Bartley was finishing college, the canvas was getting brighter.
"My senior year was the year that I had been in therapy," he said. "I was like, 'Okay, you can kind of rebuild yourself.' My grades were looking better."
But then things started to crumble.
"I graduated college right after COVID hit," he said.
As the world shut down, so did Bartley's job prospects and his hopes for the future.
"It felt like all of the progress I had made was gone in an instant," he said. "I had a mental breakdown while I was back in Chicago, and that was the moment where I kind of felt like everything was shattered."
But once again art saved him.
"I just kind of broke one night, and then I did another self-portrait," he said.
Shortly after, he decided to become a full-time artist on a mission.
"I want people to take away that they are not alone in whatever they're going through," Bartley said. "I feel like a lot of us carry abandonment wounds."
An exhibit of his art, "Words I've Never said," recently was shown at Connect Gallery in Hyde Park.
"Words I've Never Said is a eulogy to communication," he said. "It's me saying everything I wish I could have said to people who have passed, people who are no longer with me."
Connect Gallery owner Rob McKay said he doesn't remember how he met Bartley, but he remembers seeing his work, and it stuck with him.
"The work met me where I was in life," he said. "So I figured if it's hitting me this way, it can hit others."
McKay said Bartley's art is life.
"It's dealing with mental awareness, growth, life cycles. So that's what made me fall in love with his work," he said.
Bartley's love for art is something he shares with his mother, Jeanette. A lifelong scientist and educator, she received her PhD as Bartley graduated college. Creating art also is a part of her life story.
"Around the same time that I discovered art as therapy, it came back to her life as a therapeutic tool," Bartley said. "It's honestly been very rewarding for me to watch her evolve as an artist, and I couldn't be more excited to see her finally letting other people see the art."
The more Bartley lets other people see his art, the more he grows.
"I still struggle with depression and loneliness, but there's something about it where I'm like like, 'This is a unique thing that you're doing because of who you are and your art,'" he said. "I couldn't imagine living differently now."
Bartley said art is a wonderful tool to build community, and he's proud to be a part of that.
If you want to see more of his art, check him out on Instagram (@fadingroyalty) or you can find his website, fadingroyalty.com.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You can also chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline here.
For more information about mental health care resources and support, The National Alliance on Mental Illness HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email [e-mail].