Parkinson's can't stop painter at Fremont's "Art in the Garden"

Chris Amico
The Argus
Article Last Updated: 07/21/2008 10:07:56 PM PDT

FREMONT http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_9953110

ROSE SEXTON doesn't draw straight lines.

In her watercolors and sketches on display at the Fremont Art Association's "Art in the Garden" event last weekend, the artist wrangled tremors in her hands under a wash of bright colors.

Sexton has had Parkinson's disease for 17 years. At 73, she moves slowly and her hands tremble in a way common to those with the disorder.

"People will say they can't draw a straight line," she said. "When you have Parkinson's disease, you don't draw straight lines at all. You draw crooked lines, and that's what you're supposed to do when you have art, so it has improved it more than not."

Parkinson's affects the brain cells that produce dopamine, a chemical that allows the body to move smoothly. As those cells die off, movements become stiff and shaking is common and sometimes uncontrollable.

Most with the disease are elderly, though it occasionally hits younger people.

"I've been painting since I was a little tiny tot," Sexton said, chuckling under an umbrella and surrounded by flowers. She uses Crayola watercolor markers smeared with vinegar.

Much of her artwork comes from the mundane background of life: flowers, animals and scenic landscapes.

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