Autistic artist paints Dubai skyline

When he sings Ben E King’s Stand By Me, his fingers fluidly tapping the piano keys, it is hard to believe he is an autistic savant who spends most of his time painting skylines of major cities of the world from memory.

After drawing skylines of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Rome and Tokyo, Stephen Wiltshire from London, UK, has now trained his eyes on Dubai’s Manhattan, Sheikh Zayed Road.

After a half hour helicopter ride over the city’s skyline, Stephen, who turns 34 in two weeks, sat down at a five-yard canvas set up in the VIP lounge of Building 5 of the DIFC to draw over a period of four days from April 8-10, eight hours a day, the bird’s-eye view of the skyline as he remembers it. The painting will then be auctioned to raise funds for Dubai Autism Centre’s new branch in Garhoud.

“It will be a very detailed drawing of the panorama. It is my first time here. Dubai is a nice new place with brand new skyscrapers. It made the helicopter ride a good journey,” added Stephen who has been drawing from the age of five and counts his meeting with prince Charles as the most delightful moment.

Calling it “brilliant”, he said the Dubai skyline reminded him of New York City.

Even though sometimes he only has minutes to take in the surroundings, he relies entirely on memory when he draws his subjects.
“I try to remember different shapes and curves of the buildings. I don’t forget what I see but some times it is not very clear in my mind because I have only had a few seconds to absorb the sight. ”

Of all the skylines he has drawn, he rates those of New York and Chicago as his “most favourite”.

Sitting on a high stool, earplugs in his ears, an mp3 player around his neck, Stephen looked a picture of concentration when he was finishing details of the first quarter of the canvas.

“I like listening to music. It helps me concentrate well as it cuts out all distractions. My favourite music is the 70s Soul and 80s Disco,” said the slightly built Stephen who makes his own daily breakfast of cereals and counts singing, going shopping, watching TV, and visiting art galleries as his favourite pastimes.

Not only does his unique talent take him around the world but it has also made him the subject of numerous TV shows, documentaries, and books.

His potential future project will take him to Jerusalem, Beijing and his all-time favourite New York.