Artist Mike Malm Illustrates CAPSA’s Mission in a Painting

EMILY BUCKLEY editor in chief

Approximately four years ago, artist Mike Malm, of Wellsville, was at a CAPSA (Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse) fundraiser hosted by the Malouf Foundation when he heard a domestic violence survivor talk about her experience and ways she grew as a result of CAPSA services. He recalls her saying something like, “Out of the ashes, I will rise with a fire in my soul.”

“I thought, ‘That sounds like an amazing painting.’” He put the thought in the notes on his phone, not knowing if he’d ever get to act on it.

Two years later, in 2021, with the financial support of the Charis Legacy Foundation, CAPSA opened a new 9,575-square-foot wing to its main office. At the ribbon cutting for the wing, CAPSA Chief Executive Officer Jill Anderson said, “I’m reminded about how many people it takes to make our work possible. This building is not just a building. It provides us the ability to expand all of our services — to do life-saving, life-changing work. This building allows us to expand and provide more services across all of our programming.”

The Dave and Lynette Jenkins Family, who founded the Charis Legacy Foundation, wanted to go further and add a beautiful piece of art for the new wing, so they commissioned Mike to create a painting and have it on loan to CAPSA for display in the building.

“The ideas had been in my mind for a couple of years, so when the opportunity finally presented itself, [it] just fell into place,” Mike said.

From concept and collaboration to unveiling was a detailed process. Mike says it goes from a rough pencil sketch to a rough watercolor sketch, to taking hundreds of photos of models, to piecing together the images in Photoshop to match his vision before actually getting to work on painting the final piece.

“There were times I had to put it aside to let ideas marinate and work toward expressing the narrative we wanted,” Mike said. “My job is to work on [a painting] until I feel it … If I don’t feel it, no one else is going to feel it, so I’m really conscious of the colors I’m using, the tones I’m using, how the lines move through the piece; all of that is really important. I feel it out as I’m working, and I know when it feels right … that’s when I’m done.”

Mike says the piece, titled From the Ashes, is a story about overcoming darkness and is full of symbolism.

“We are grateful to have the opportunity to find such a great home for this painting at CAPSA, and we are so grateful to Mike for his vision and talent in creating such a beautiful artistic work,” Lynette Jenkins, co-founder of the Charis Legacy Foundation said. “It is perfect for CAPSA because the painting is a beautiful representation of a person being able to rise above the hard things in their lives and take the steps that will help them move forward to a better place. It also represents how the help of others is important in a victim’s progression to recovery. This painting gives one an immediate feeling of hope! Our desire is that this is what those who visit CAPSA will feel as they receive help from the services provided.

We appreciate the dedicated staff and others involved with CAPSA and their work in providing a safe haven for victims to find healing and hope in their lives.”

Mike says a piece like this is a lot of work, but it also comes with much satisfaction. “I can’t even imagine what some people feel or what they are dealing with when they come to CAPSA,” Mike said. “I just hope this painting can help inspire. I hope people can see themselves coming out of this and that it’s going to be OK — that they have a lot of people around them at CAPSA who love them and are there for them. That there is hope. That they aren’t alone. If a glimpse of the painting can give a little spark of, ‘Maybe it’s going to be OK,’ then I’ve done my job.”