Painting His Recovery

Konrad Marshall: Brian Duff sat in the corner of the homeless shelter courtyard, scribbling in a spiral notebook.

He drew faces in black pen but averted his eyes from those around him, focusing instead on circling insects, warbling birds and dandelions on the lawn.

Duff, 28, has bipolar disorder. He lives in a two-story red brick building in Fountain Square called the First Home Program. The facility is run by Wishard Health Services for people who have persistent mental illness and nowhere to live.

His paintings often begin in tranquil settings like this garden, where ivy insinuates itself between the bricks of the enclosing wall. But later, as Duff paints, writes poems, plans film scripts…