March 29, 2016 at 5:45 pm

This Artist Was Born Without the Use of Her Hands But That Didn’t Stop Her From Painting

by twistedsifter

artist alana ciena tillman paints with her mouth (13)

 

Alana Ciena Tillman is a painter despite being born without the use of her arms and hands. In an AMA on reddit, Tillman says she was born with ‘Arthrogryposis‘ and instead uses her mouth to paint, controlling her brush strokes with her tongue. She also says that she typically uses her feet to get the paint out and mix her paint palette and has been painting since she was five!

Born and raised in Northern California, the artist’s style varies from abstract to impressionist. Alana is available for commissions and you can see much more of her beautiful paintings at the links below. In her most insightful AMA response, someone asked her for advice for young kids living with disabilities:

That’s a really good question. It’s just so hard when you’re a kid and you can’t see past what you’re going through in the moment. I think when they learn discipline and practice things get easier. Sometimes it can be a day-to-day struggle or even an hourly struggle… focus on what is positive in life during that moment in time. No two struggles are exactly the same… but a positive perspective helps. I smile a lot and roll with the punches. [source]

 

ALANA CIENA TILLMAN
Website | Facebook | Instagram

 

 

artist alana ciena tillman paints with her mouth (12)

ALANA CIENA TILLMAN
Website | Facebook | Instagram

 

artist alana ciena tillman paints with her mouth (8)

ALANA CIENA TILLMAN
Website | Facebook | Instagram

 

artist alana ciena tillman paints with her mouth (6)

ALANA CIENA TILLMAN
Website | Facebook | Instagram

 

artist alana ciena tillman paints with her mouth (2)

ALANA CIENA TILLMAN
Website | Facebook | Instagram

 

artist alana ciena tillman paints with her mouth (11)

ALANA CIENA TILLMAN
Website | Facebook | Instagram

 

artist alana ciena tillman paints with her mouth (10)

ALANA CIENA TILLMAN
Website | Facebook | Instagram

 

artist alana ciena tillman paints with her mouth (7)

ALANA CIENA TILLMAN
Website | Facebook | Instagram

 

artist alana ciena tillman paints with her mouth (3)

ALANA CIENA TILLMAN
Website | Facebook | Instagram

 

artist alana ciena tillman paints with her mouth (9)

ALANA CIENA TILLMAN
Website | Facebook | Instagram

 

artist alana ciena tillman paints with her mouth (5)

ALANA CIENA TILLMAN
Website | Facebook | Instagram

 

artist alana ciena tillman paints with her mouth (1)

ALANA CIENA TILLMAN
Website | Facebook | Instagram