PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Across the county, medical facilities with the Department of Veterans Affairs send in works of art for the annual National Veterans Creative Arts Competition. 

What You Need To Know

  • In 2023, more than 4,000 were entered into the national competition. 

  • Medical facilities across the VA use creative arts as a form of rehabilitation. 

  • Submissions for the competition are due on July 12. 

The contest recognizes the progress and recovery our veterans are making with the help of art therapy.

Mike Welsh is one veteran submitting his artwork to the competition. He said it's not something he thought he'd be doing just a few years ago.

"I had never drawn or painted before, not anything serious," he said.

Whether it be with a paintbrush or his putty knife, Welsh has spent the last three years creating all sorts of different pieces.

He served in the Army for more than a decade, but after his time in the military, he struggled with his sobriety and his mental health.

Whether the piece is big or small, he said he's found an outlet where he can express himself.

"I'm able to do this at any point in time," he said. "I've encouraged some of my other veteran friends too. They'll give me a call and say I'm experiencing a lot of anxiety right now. I say, 'OK, let's draw it out.'"

Welsh is excited to submit his latest piece to the contest and often thinks of his mother when he creates his art.

For 18 months, his mother was in the hospital for end-of-life care, but because of how the room was designed, she rarely got to look outside.

"I would go to my mother's room and notice her roommate would have her curtains drawn half the time," he said. "So I said, 'Well, tell you what, let's go ahead and I'm going to draw what image is out there and then I can put it up next to you so you can see it every day, and that way you never have to worry about not being able to see outside.'"

His painting will be put just outside the window of a hospital room at Bay Pines.

If his mother could talk to him now and find out why he made the piece, he said she would be proud of him.

"I really hope that she can see this down from heaven," he said.

Submissions for the competition are due on July 12 and an in-person showcase will be held on July 18 at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center.