ABC Mid North Coast

Human Interest

Sat 27 Jun 2026 at 7:40am

Cheryl Blacklock says art helps her after brain surgery.

Cheryl creates art in her backyard studio with plants and birdsong.

Her eyes show emotion as she paints a young woman's face.

The art studio is a calm place for Cheryl after her brain surgery.

Cheryl lives with a brain injury and says art is like medicine.

At first, art was like an addiction for Cheryl during her recovery.

Cheryl was an accountant, but now she is an artist at 62 years old.

Cheryl often sees faces in her mind and feels compelled to paint them.

One day in 2019, Cheryl felt unwell and drove to the hospital.

She had brain aneurysms and a rare disease of the arteries.

Cheryl had to have brain surgery to clip the aneurysms.

After surgery, Cheryl had a long recovery from her brain injury.

A new identity emerges

Cheryl uses art to show her emotions.

During recovery, Cheryl noticed changes in herself.

Her ability to process information was reduced.

Processing numbers and reading forms became difficult.

Cheryl made a mistake with a client's refund.

Cheryl felt compelled to create art after her surgery.

Cheryl had not painted for decades before her surgery.

Cheryl only created some art in high school and later.

Art as therapy

Cheryl now devotes herself to art full-time.

Cheryl's brain can't do accounting work like before.

Cheryl's artworks show her feelings through portraits.

Cheryl's main subject is faces that appear in her mind.

Cheryl learned from an artist who uses art as therapy.

Art can calm the nervous system, says the artist.

How the brain can 'rewire'

Cheryl created a charcoal of the brain's vascular system.

A neuroscientist says the brain can forge new pathways.

The brain adapts when a part of it is damaged or removed.

Cheryl uses muted colors to create abstract images.

The neuroscientist says the brain's networks can change.

The brain's networks can rewire and find new ways of thinking.

Cheryl feels she has evolved into her true self.

Cheryl thinks the universe told her to slow down.

Sat 27 Jun 2026 at 7:40am

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