Lawrence Harrison, a member of the Washington, DC Chapter of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Group, took third place in two categories of art at last Monday’s local judging of the National Creative Arts Competition at the DC VA Medical Center. Lawrence competed in the oil-based and acrylics categories as a legally blind contestant.

Lawrence painted his cousin, Rosemary (oil-based), and his brother, Chester (acrylics), both pictured here. His work now advances to a national judging process that continues in December and culminates with the annual National Veterans Creative Arts Festival scheduled for May 2025 at the Indianapolis Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center.

Artistic talent is something Lawrence was born with, but the obstacles presented by his loss of vision are still real. He compensates with additional time, effort, and the assistive technology that makes it possible for him to continue painting.

“With my vision loss it takes me a good two weeks to do a painting like the ones I entered in the competition,” he said, “but with a CCTV, magnifiers, and computer technology I can make it all work.”

The National Veterans Creative Arts Competition is an opportunity to recognize veterans for their creative accomplishments in the areas of art, music, creative writing, drama, and dance, and to demonstrate throughout the country the therapeutic benefits of the arts.