'My autism made me an artist but I wanted a family'

At 2 years of age, David Downes began to draw. It would beryllium different fewer years earlier helium learned to talk, and different 30 until his autism diagnosis.

"I could gully earlier I could communicate. Looking backmost it was evident but determination wasn't arsenic overmuch consciousness backmost then," says the 51-year-old scenery artist, who lives successful Manningtree, Essex.

David has a photographic memory, which helium puts down to his neurodivergent brain. He tin callback the places helium has visited successful superb item and overgarment them from his recollections.

"I'm fortunate to person this capableness to visualise and besides to get obsessive astir stuff. As a kid I started drafting churches, trees, flocks of birds and roadworthy junctions due to the fact that they were the things I was fascinated by."

But his autistic traits haven't ever helped David successful life.

He felt antithetic from his friends increasing up successful Brome, Suffolk. He was bullied astatine precocious schoolhouse and recovered comfortableness successful keeping an illustrated diary. His caput teacher did not judge helium had produced the drawings - truthful his creator endowment was not recognised.

It was his mother, who precocious passed distant and who David describes arsenic his inspiration, who encouraged him to spell to creation school.

He recovered exams hard due to the fact that helium struggled to clasp accusation and did not get the grades to get into Norwich Art School, which was seen arsenic the champion successful the area, truthful helium went to 1 successful Ipswich.

"My enactment was truly deed and miss. I was precise atrocious astatine copying, I could gully it retired of my caput overmuch easier than if it was successful beforehand of me."

David went connected to survey illustration astatine Anglia Ruskin University successful Cambridge and past astatine Brighton University, wherever helium did a postgraduate diploma successful illustration.

"Socially I was inactive struggling to marque friends and I was trying to acceptable in. People really privation to beryllium antithetic astatine creation school. But I was truthful antithetic that it was annoying. I was ever a small spot connected the outside. I was hopeless to find a woman but it ne'er happened," helium says.

David inactive did not person an autism diagnosis, but suspected helium was connected the spectrum.

He decided to papers his struggles successful a ocular autobiography and utilized it to summation a spot astatine the prestigious Royal College of Art successful London, which helium describes arsenic "like winning the World Cup".

After graduating, David was unsure which way to instrumentality - arsenic an illustrator oregon a good artist. "You travel retired of the Royal College and you conscionable presume you're going to marque it. I felt similar I was much of a good artist, but I tended to bash enactment that was rather illustrative."

It was not agelong until helium won his archetypal large contract, a committee by the BBC to grounds the corporation's astir important architecture astatine the crook of the period and helium became the BBC's creator successful residence for 2 years.

David was yet diagnosed with autism astatine the property of 32 and helium spoke to a counsellor, who helped him get a part-time occupation successful an creation shop.

"I was struggling to tally a concern and marque a surviving from my creation and I needed immoderate benignant of knowing of what was going on," helium says.

His nonrecreational beingness started going good again, and successful 2012 helium was commissioned by The Savoy Hotel to make a portion depicting the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, which inactive sits successful the entranceway of the satellite celebrated hotel.

David got progressive with the National Autistic Society and became vice president, regularly speaking and coating unrecorded astatine fundraising events for the charity.

But astatine the aforesaid time, helium was struggling with relationships. He could not find a partner, contempt throwing himself into net dating, and felt his dreams of being a begetter were over.

David started seeing a hypnotherapist portion successful his aboriginal forties and paid him successful drawings.

"He would hypnotise maine and accidental 'David you're a truly large artist, you're unique, you're different. You're going to conscionable idiosyncratic who is going to recognize your issues'."

David went connected to conscionable his spouse Rachel successful a pub successful Stoke Newington successful London. The mates lived successful California for 3 years, which helium says opened his caput to doing antithetic types of work.

"It was a situation surviving determination and having to astir commencement again arsenic an artist, aft being good known successful London, but it pushed maine retired of my comfortableness zone," helium says.

They decided to determination backmost to England, to Manningtree, and Rachel fell large with their girl Talia, who is present two.

During Covid, David felt inspired to document the pandemic, which helium says helped him header with the accent of it, and helium started doing overmuch much imaginary and surreal work.

"My champion enactment arsenic ever been autobiographical oregon describing the times that we unrecorded in," helium says.

David precocious opened a assemblage successful Manningtree, which had ever been a imagination of his, but helium "never thought it would travel true".

"To person the accidental to show my enactment and person chats with people, it's incredible. I consciousness similar it has besides fixed maine much of an individuality arsenic an artist," helium says.

David is present turning his attraction to the outgo of surviving situation and wants to make immoderate pieces documenting it successful the caller year.

"Before my mum died, she said to maine 'your begetter and I ne'er thought you'd conscionable idiosyncratic and beryllium a father," helium says.

"I'm arrogant of everything I've achieved successful the creation satellite but having a household is the astir important happening of all."