CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — With every dip and precise stroke, 85-year-old Armand Schumacher slowly brought his canvas to life.
But it’s really art itself that’s the reason Schumacher is still living today.
“I would say it (painting) saved my life, and it’s still saving my life,” Schumacher said.
To understand just how much painting is an integral part of his life, KRIS 6 News went back in time to the Vietnam War, where a much younger Schumacher served in the Navy ground forces.
Like many of his war buddies, what he witnessed there was difficult to process mentally.
“Because it changed you, and there was a lot of frustration and problems in Vietnam that you sort of existed with,” Schumacher said.
When he returned from war, he sought out therapy, but he eventually settled on a different treatment that had the most lasting impression: painting.
“Maybe I had trouble with concentrating. That’s part of the Vietnam thing. And this helps me. It isolates outside noise,” Schumacher said.
That’s why Wednesday mornings at the Art Center are so important to the New York/California transplant. Those weekly three hour portrait sessions don't help him escape from the world — they help him connect with it.
“I live really a solitary life, and this is my only chance to talk to people,” Schumacher said.
For Schumacher and others coping with depression and anxiety, there’s actually science to art therapy.
“When I tell people yes, art has saved their lives, it sounds dramatic, but it’s very real,” Dianna Bluntzer, the executive director of the Art Center said. “With 45 minutes of making art, your cortisol (stress hormone) can be reduced by 25%."
Over the years, Schumacher has created over 200 works of art. He has even sold some.
But this therapy is nothing about making money to him, what draws him in is an intense passion to create.
“You gotta paint like it’s the only thing in the world. It’s what you do on a rainy day when nothing else matters,” Schumacher said.
TheArt Center of Corpus Christi offers various programs.
More Veterans In Focus stories are available here, along with resources for local veterans.
Contact Veterans In Focus reporter Pat Simon at pat.simon@kristv.com
