When words fail him, Robert Coughlin’s art speaks for him.
“I don’t know if I do too well in language, I feel a bit lacking in being able to communicate. I really think that painting for me is my voice.” Coughlin says. “I had a pretty rough childhood, so my images have always been really bright and colorful. I’ve always wanted anybody who sees them to feel lifted up.”
Coughlin, along with nine other DAP Health clients, will have his art for sale during the holiday season in an artist spotlight on Revival’s website, found here.
Corina Lujan, DAP Health wellness center manager, says selling the art is an extension of a career development program at DAP Health that helps clients become productive.
Through the program, it was apparent there were a number of talented artists.
“A lot of them are really skilled with no place to sell their art,” Lujan explains. “Selling their art is a way for them to make a little bit of extra money, especially since some of them are on disability. Their fixed income doesn’t allow for a lot.”
Normally, client art is displayed in the lobby of the Barbara Keller Love Building at DAP Health. But construction and COVID reduced the traffic flow through the hallway.
“We launched e-commerce at Revivals during the pandemic and felt the timing was right to use the online site to spotlight DAP Health clients,” says Director of Retail, Dane Koch. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go directly to the artist. The timing of the online sale makes giving a gift for the greater good easier than ever before. The limited-time event begins on Thursday, and will end on January 2, 2022.
Coughlin says he is excited that he will be able to sell his watercolor and acrylic paintings. His paintings are a form of communication for him and one of the messages he wants to portray is his gratitude for DAP Health providing the care he needed.
“I wept the first time I went to the dentist there,” Coughlin says. “All my dental work was so necessary. The dentists and everybody in the front office treated me with such compassion. It was very emotional for me that I wasn’t treated like a leper. I’m just so grateful for them, for Dr. (Tulika) Singh on the medical side and Josie (Pimentel) her assistant. They’ve just been so compassionate and kind and really supportive.”
More information: You can meet the artists online here and learn more about Revivals here.
