From Service to Scapes: Leon Phillips on Art as Recovery
Leon Phillips, an Air Force veteran, discusses his journey from studying art history to serving during the Iraq War, and how painting helped him navigate the challenges of PTSD and recovery. He shares how cityscapes and a connection to the Veteran Art Institute have provided a positive outlet for his life today.
Transcript
Interviewer: How does art fit into your life?
Leon Phillips: Well, originally I went to school for art history and psychology back in the ’90s before I went into the military. And then I kind of let the art and everything fall to the side after college and I went into the military. There really wasn’t a whole lot of time for it. I went in in 2000 and then the war kicked off, so I had other things to focus on. So all of that got pushed to the side and I focused more on other skills that I had.
When I wound up getting out of the military, I had all sorts of baggage. I drowned a lot of that baggage with alcohol and drugs, unfortunately. And I had a lot of dark spots in my life that I had a real hard time with. I've been sober for seven and a half years now. And part of that journey was going to the VA and going through some PTSD classes. I didn’t go through any art therapy classes per se, but in some of the PTSD classes we were asked to look at our wartime face and our peacetime faces, and I was able to make a mask in that session.
I found when I was doing that I completely lost track of all my issues. Everything kind of like dropped off, time froze, and the things that bothered me didn’t bother me—they weren’t even in my head for that time being while I was doing it. I never thought of myself to be an artist, to be honest, but when I did this I found it as a way of therapy for me to be able to help me through my issues. It didn’t solve everything, but it solved it for me during that time period while I was going through that. By doing that, I also learned I enjoyed it. Not just because it took me to this other place, but I was producing something positive and constructive in my life. Now I have a whole lot of work to show for it. I’ve done a lot of commissioned pieces for people, and the money is nice, don’t get me wrong, but the reactions I get from people is what really makes it—like the tears or the laughter and the different emotions that I get from people.
Interviewer: Will you talk about the painting behind you?
Leon Phillips: This is a painting I’d done of Chicago. I spent a little bit of time in Chicago and I typically do paintings—when I'm doing cityscapes—of different cities and areas that I’ve been to, for about 99% of them. This one in particular, I wanted to take a lot of the color out of it. I focused mainly on the blacks and the whites of it, and then I added a little bit of color to the sky and the water, which makes it a lot different than a lot of the other cityscapes I’ve done where I usually go with a lot of different colors. It’s just something I can get lost in. I love doing cityscapes because of all the detail between each individual building. When I’m personally doing it, I think of each building having its own individuality. When it comes to the color and the angles, I try to look at each one individually and then they all come together to make the city.
Interviewer: How long have you been a part of the Veteran Art Institute?
Leon Phillips: It’s been probably about six months now. A friend of mine introduced me to it who is also in recovery, and she had been telling me about different opportunities for veterans because I hadn't learned a whole lot. She introduced me to you actually, which introduced me to the online platform, which I’ve really gravitated towards. I still have some issues with being in large groups of people and a whole lot of strangers—I tend to shy away from that stuff. But being able to do it online gave me the platform and the arena to be able to put it online and still share it with other people. The fact that there are a couple of courses on there already and I’ve heard there are going to be more—these are things I’m really looking forward to. Sometimes it’s hard for me to put myself in a traditional environment to be able to do something like that. If I can just sit at home or with a couple of other people and be able to do those same things, it means the world to me.