Painting for recovery

By Sebastian Herrera

Photography by Jarrid Denman

Videography by Kyle Bugg

Audio by Jerry Latigo

Retired physician Daniel Rouch has used painting as a form of recovery from his traumatic brain injury.

Almost six years ago, 60 year-old Daniel Rouch was at the Texas Ski Ranch of San Marcos practicing one of his favorite hobbies, wake-boarding. What would ensue that day would change Rouch’s life forever and eventually land him in the classroom of Austin’s Painting with a Twist.

Painting with a Twist is a nationwide company that began in 2007 by Cathy Deano and Renee Maloney in Mandeville, Louisiana. Deano and Maloney’s vision for the company was to pair instructional art with friends, wine and a knowledgeable instructor. The company began with the title Corks and Canvasas before franchising the business to Painting with a Twist in 2009.

Those who attend a two-hour class enjoy the experience of being taught how to draw an original or historic painting step by step from a local artist. Austin’s own site is just one of 81 locations that exist nationwide.

By first appearance, Rouch looks like any other customer at Painting with a Twist, Dabbing and stroking the canvas in front of him with his brush and paint. But according to his assistant that accompanies him on each Painting with a Twist visit, 60 year-old Karen Abrahams, anyone who meets Rouch will not soon forget his story. “He is pretty quiet, not everybody goes up and talks to him,” Abrahams said. “But once you talk to him and find out his story, it is remarkable.”

Rouch was wake-boarding when he fell and crashed into the water at high speeds on that fateful day almost six years ago. The accident left the former physician unconscious and in a hospital bed with a subdural hematoma, a severe type of brain injury where blood leaks through a tear in the bridging veins of the brain.

“I don’t remember waking up,” Rouch said. “I don’t remember the accident.”

Rouch and his assistant Karen Abrahams next to him, both painting away.

Doctors had to perform surgery on Rouch as he suffered life-threating intracranial pressure to his brain and lost critical oxygen flow. They were able to save his life but not before lasting effects took hold of his mind. From that point forward, Rouch has been fighting short-term memory loss and the inability to think or speak right.

Regaining normality was a task Rouch was faced with in the aftermath of his accident. The process of recuperation began with the hire of Abrahams and proceeded through the rough stages of finding what worked best for Rouch in his recovery. And after attempting different remedies to help his brain trauma, it was at Painting with a Twist where Rouch found the light in his dark tunnel.

“It is amazing” Abrahams said when asked how Painting with a Twist has affected Rouch. “I can tell the difference. Once he came in, it was a little frustrating at first. But I have seen him and how art opened up a different world for him and his mind.”

For Rouch, Painting with a Twist has become a safe haven to escape the reality that he lives with each day. Every stroke of his paintbrush works Rouch’s mind in a way other activities can’t. Through it, he temporarily regains what was once there: a fully engaged mind. And he is not alone. In fact, the company has helped many people in the Austin Community. For Rouch, the help has come through its classes. For others, life change has come through financial support.

One of the company’s main goals since its inception has been to aid communities like Austin by holding a fundraiser once a month to support various local non-profit organizations. One example of that is the Austin non-profit organization H.A.N.D. (Helping the Aging, Needy and Disabled), which received financial support from Painting with a Twist in April.

Colors, cups and brushes used to create artwork at Painting with a Twist.

Customers receive direction from an instrictor and create similar pieces of art.

The once-a-month charity event is called Painting for a Purpose. Its concept is simple: for one day all of the proceeds from classes go to the non-profit organization that Painting with a Twist chooses to support that month.

Andrew Grimes, an instructor at Austin’s Painting with a Twist, said that painting for a Purpose is the perfect way for locals to give back to their surroundings. “If people can also know that they are giving back to the community by taking these classes, even if it is not an exact non-profit that they would normally donate to, it is a way for them to try painting while also giving back,” Grimes said.

Whether through charity or individual stories like Rouch’s, Painting with a Twist appears to be achieving the goals it set forth from its beginning.

Rouch’s memory and brain will probably never be the same. But in recognizing what Painting with a Twist has meant to him and others, Rouch says he supports the company and its cause.

“It’s a good idea for anybody to have a purpose,” said Rouch. “And for that to be their purpose, to enrich someone’s life, I think is very noble.” 

This unique tree decoration made out of wine bottles celebrates the theme at Painting with a Twist.

Cork screw ceiling decorations add to the Austin vibe at Painting with a Twist.

The atmospheric sounds of a lesson at Painting with a Twist.

Background photo in video from Google Images.