The series, “Coloring Outside the Lines” takes you on a profound journey that explores control and chaos, sensory and perception, all filtered through the lens of autism. Each painting has its own story, inspired by events and Dawn’s daily life raising a son with high functioning autism. What you may notice in most of Dawn’s paintings, is her use of many layers of paint and textures. Dawn says “Textures are calming to Taylor as it is with most people on the autism spectrum. However, while creating this collection, I came to realize that my use of textures is calming and soothing to me as well.” The stark contrast between flowing paint and heavy texture is representative of what we see in nature. Yet, it also stirs up the conflicting feelings we have within ourselves. “There must be a harmony of chaos and order to reveal the beauty. There must be darkness to reveal the light and weight to reveal the balance.”

I created this series of abstracts during the most difficult time of my life. In 2021, in the span of 3 months I experiencing the ultimate betrayal, death of several loved ones, divorce, sickness, empty nesting and feeling hopelessly lost and overwhelmed. These paintings helped ground me and remind me that I have so much to be thankful for. As I painted, Each canvas brought me closer to rediscovering myself. Interestingly, I never painted to paint a series, they just became my healing and enabled me to make it out of the dark.

This collection represents a deep and powerful journey about freedom of self, and loving who you are. The bold colors, emotional brush strokes and marks, I used represent the highs and lows of entering this next phase of my life. Embracing what it means to truly let go.