"Empty Chair" Joshua Gillen

Joshua Gillen, Sallisaw, OK

Empty Chair, 2026

Oil on canvas

18 x 24”

I've drawn since I was a child. When I was 20 years old, I started painting. It was a way to express my active imagination. It also allowed me to express my observations about life in a symbolic way, leaving the work to be interpreted by the viewer. This allows their imagination to become active.

In 2012 I suffered a traumatic brain injury. I lost my ability to create. I lost myself because of it as well. Immediately I started trying to paint my experiences in the hospital; the 3-month stay there was a foggy memory now. My art had changed! It was now strokes of paint with images. Very disconnected from reality. My body was worn down and my mind as well. I didn't try painting again for several years. I was discouraged.

In 2025 a good friend advised me to try painting again. I did try and now I have a way to express my new TBI self. They say that art is therapy and it is. It is also life. It's the fuel that keeps the fire going. Create something, anything. The world needs your unique perspective now more than ever.