MOUNT DORA, Fla. — An iconic home in Mount Dora is receiving a fresh coat of paint.
The landmark was painted with a mural inspired by the homeowner’s autistic son’s favorite painting, Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” This was a way to guide him home in case he wandered off.
“It’s given him a tremendous sense of comfort,” Nancy Nemhauser, the homeowner, said. “When he pulls into the driveway, he says I’m home at Van Gogh.”
Nemhauser has been an advocate for her autistic son Grant, who goes by Chip, for his 31 years of life. That included a legal battle with the City of Mount Dora to keep the mural on the outside of their home.
The family racked up thousands of dollars in fines from the city.
“He’s known to be a runner, they leave the house and run faster than we can,” Nemhauser said. “He is language impaired. I wanted to make sure he could identify where he was going.”
Since the dispute has reached resolution, and the mural has been able to stay, the hot Florida sun is beating down on the art daily. Florida Paints stepped in to donate all of the paint for the revamp.
“The first stage was artist with autism getting to paint a canvas that is going to become an infinity sign,” Santiago Quintero, the Director of Marketing for Florida Paints, said. The second stage will be to paint the terraces to match the rest of the house.”
With bright blues and bold oranges and yellows the restored artwork will be featured in a new documentary “Starry Fight: A Canvas for the World.”
A message, and symbol, to never lose sight of where you’re going.
“I didn’t give up, I won’t give up for my son,” Nemhauser said. “I think that’s what many of our moms do.”
To date, the Paint a Brighter Day Program through Florida Paints has donated more than 8,000 gallons of paint.
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