Works by Esther Brokaw, Savant Artist

Esther Brokaw, Savant Artist

ABOUT ESTHER, Asperger Savant

  Esther Brokaw is an untrained artist who, over the last 20 years has created a collection of oil paintings, watercolors and pastels that are listed here.  Each painting exhibits a unusual focus to color and detail.  Recently, Esther decided to become public about her diagnosis, and to share her works with others.

   As a child, Esther showed extraordinary art ability.  Most of her early art exploration was done when her Aunt Lois came to visit, bringing both the supplies and encouragement for her talented niece. Visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a child she was strongly impacted by the impressionist paintings she saw.

  After graduating from high school, Esther worked as a carpenter and a roofer. She also waited tables to help support herself through

high school and college. She graduated North Texas State University in 1985 with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and married Andrew Brokaw in 1986.  While at college, Esther entered a 12 step recovery group for alcoholism and has not had a drink since 1983.

            At the age of thirty Esther finally had the time and money to be able to paint when she stopped working full time to have children.  Her first painting was a watercolor of a sunset over the Florida Keys.

Esther herself was impressed with how well the painting came out. However, she felt that the watercolor paint didn't offer her the intensity

of color that she desired and began painting in oils. Her first oil painting was of her first born daughter, asleep in her crib.

Although she had many health problems and surgeries from birth though adulthood in 1993, Esther became chronically ill from an unknown illness. She was diagnosed with Mercury poisoning in 1996 as a result of having many amalgam fillings irresponsibly replaced over and over. After mercury chelation, she continued to suffer with severe pain, impaired vision, and uncontrollable twitching and jerking, in addition to many other problems. Esther's condition made it very difficult for her to paint and she began studying the stock

market, squinting at charts in bed with her laptop hours, days, weeks on end. During the ten years of her illness, she was able to paint for only brief periods of time. In 2002, Esther and both of her daughters were diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Esther began to recover upon starting a gluten free diet. In 2004, Esther was having trouble eating, sleeping, and rocking and finally was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome with savantism. 

     Today, Esther is much healthier and continues to recover in Southeastern Connecticut with her husband, two teenage daughters, and four dogs. She continues to paint beautiful impressionist oil paintings of

scenes, people, and sights that inspire her. She paints from photos she has taken herself, adding her own touch to the light and color of the scene surprising even herself with what ends up on the canvas.