All students participating in Albion College’s summer Foundation for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (FURSCA) program do a formal presentation of their project to the entire group. Leo Gomez ’26 was in the middle of his when he was interrupted by art professor Michael Dixon.

“I was saying that my goal was to create six paintings this summer when Michael told everyone I would do eight,” Gomez recalled. “I’ve had to sometimes work on two paintings at once, and I’ve stayed up late some nights. It was a surprise, but I thought I could do it.”

Along with testing his ability to do more than he thought, Gomez has spent the summer studying autism and seeing how he can apply his new knowledge and personal experiences to his art. With the eight paintings he finished this summer, Gomez has a total of 16 paintings reflecting on “Isolation, Autism, and Me.”

“Michael Dixon says to do a series, you need at least 16 paintings,” Gomez said. “Take this opportunity as a mock residency.”

Gomez has studied and practiced art for years, but his current FURSCA project, with its focus on autism, is leading him to consider his work on a new level. “Autism isn’t something I’ve ever really talked about,” he said. “It manifests through isolation and in these paintings, I more or less go through that. Many of these pieces touch on things like my place in this world, my place within academics, and my interests.”

His still life, “A Self-portrait Amongst the Artist’s Stuff?,” underscores his point. Many artists construct still lifes with an eye to symbolism (think skulls, dead flowers, etc.) but Gomez’ piece is more of a portrait of his emotion. “My still life includes my water bottle, my drawing utensils and sketchbooks, and my boots,” he explained. “These are things that I have a special interest in. These are all things that I’ve drawn comfort from, and that help me make sense of this crazy world.”

The centerpiece of Gomez’ summer is a portrait of himself with Dixon and Dixon’s teacher Beverly Mclver, an art professor at Duke University. The portrait reflects conflicting emotions Gomez felt about their meeting.

“Imagine having your mentor and your mentor’s mentor in the same room. You’re surrounded by people very important to you, and you also feel very sensitive to autistic stimuli like touching as you take the photo,” Gomez recalled. “It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the occasion. I showed this by making the background very red.”

Gomez displayed another emotion (and his talent) in the way he painted each face using a different technique. “I thought it would be fun to show these two artists in the style they show themselves,” he said. “I painted them in their own style, and myself in my style.”

Along with exhibiting his work at next year’s Isaac Student Research Symposium, Gomez is contemplating sharing it with others with the condition. Among them is Kaelynn Partlow, an autistic therapist and advocate whose Youtube channel has served as a source of inspiration.

”This channel provided a lot of research material for this project, and I also don’t want to only speak about myself,” Gomez said. “This work may be relatable to other people with autism. Sharing what I’ve done is more or less the plan and I’m hoping that things go well with that.”

Leo Gomez is a senior majoring in art with a minor in art history. He is the child of Salvador Gomez and Maria Coronado of Dallas and is a graduate of Hampton Preparatory School. 

This story originally appeared in the 2025-2026 President’s Report.