Keshun Burrows: “Drawing Is My Relaxing Zone”

[Written by Stephen Wright]

Keshun Burrows feels happy, calm and almost “zen-like” when he has a sketchbook before him and a pencil in his hand.

The 36-year-old was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 15 and suffers from grand mal seizures, which cause a loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions.

Creating art, however, is a medicine of sorts for Burrows, who admits he can draw all day when surrounded by “happy people” in a calming environment.

“Drawing keeps me calm,” Burrows told Bernews. “It’s my relaxing zone. As long as I can draw, I’m OK.

“Initially, I was very much into drawing Dragon Ball Z and a lot of Japanese Anime. But when I got 18, I decided to start drawing my own stuff.”

Burrows displayed a natural talent for drawing from an early age, his discipline and focus evident as a three-year-old at Warwick Preschool.

“One day, we were given a picture to colour in,” Burrows remembers. “Most kids just coloured all over the picture whereas I picked up the crayon and coloured the inside of the outline before slowly starting to shade it in.

“When the teacher saw my work, she was like, ‘You shouldn’t be able to do that at your age!’

“The principal was shown my picture and called my mom into my school and asked if she’d taught me how to do it. They couldn’t believe it when she said, ‘No, he’s learnt that on his own’.

By his admission, Burrows endured a turbulent childhood, living at the Sunshine League Children’s Home for three years, from 15 to 18, with one of his younger sisters. He believes the stress of the situation exacerbated his epilepsy.

“We were getting tossed between my mom and my dad’s custody,” said Burrows, who lives in Pembroke with his mother. “When neither had a stable place, we got put in family services. That put a lot of stress on me.

“I was the oldest kid in the home and got picked on a lot as I was quiet.

“I had grown out of my asthma, which I was born with, but that’s when epilepsy started. I’ve been through some troubling times in my life.”

Burrows’s employment opportunities have been restricted by his condition, as doctors have told him he should not lift heavy objects.

He earns income from cleaning cars and boats and was previously part of the Hustle Truck Programme.

Despite his health issues, Burrows envisages a bright future and has been encouraged to study art and business at Bermuda College by Barry Brewer, the chief executive at Neptune Group Limited, whose boat he cleans.

Local artists Manuel Palacio and Elizabeth Ann Trott, who taught Burrows at CedarBridge Academy, have also inspired him to one day have his work displayed at the Bermuda Society of Arts at City Hall in Hamilton.

“I would love to have my artwork displayed in the gallery at City Hall,” said Burrows, who enjoys designing patterns and murals.

“I have to open a bank account first. There’s also a membership fee. I’m working on it.”

#Artists #StephenWrightReports

Category: All, Entertainment, News