I've had severe migraine headaches on and off since I was 11. I've usually kept quiet about it, but I've come to realize that for better or worse, it's been a source of artistic inspiration. True migraines are a neurological condition, and in 1/3 of sufferers they cause the hallucination of a c-shaped "aura" at onset. This hallucination is surprisingly similar between individuals - almost always a jagged, scintillating "C".

A few years ago, I painted my migraine aura, superimposed on black. When I see it, it's superimposed on my regular field of vision, like looking through a broken windshield, and it moves. Although I don't like my migraines, I find them interesting. Many of my more surreal, dreamlike paintings are based on migraines. Here's my migraine aura painting:

You can see the same color scheme and rounded moving design in many of my paintings. For example:

Tags: migraine, abstract, stories, influences