Paint a Miracle was inspired by Dr. Dale Propson and his artistic mentor, Helen Cuniff. Dr. Dale began painting more than a decade after the 1985 car accident that caused him to suffer a severe brain injury and serious sight problems. Dale's injury forced him to leave a job he loved -- working as a pediatric dentist -- and the loss of his professional life left him missing the companionship of his co-workers, lacking in motivation, and looking for some way to fill the long hours. A prolonged period of depression followed.

One day in the spring of 1995, an aide took Dale to a small art studio in Lake Orion, Michigan, where he met Helen. She came out to the car and asked him to come inside the studio. Dale told her he could not come inside to paint because he could not see. "You donÕt need your eyes to paint," she told him. "The image goes from your brain through your heart to your hand."

These encouraging words and the nurturing relationship that developed between Helen and Dale have been the inspiration for Paint a Miracle. Drawing on his own experience, Dale suggested opening an art studio so others with disabilities could benefit as he has. Helen has since died, but her legacy of love, inclusion, artistic striving, and personal courage live on.