Dynamic duo Ashley, brother-in-law with Down syndrome team on striking images

BY KRIS OLSON

Nearly five decades ago, Marblehead photographer Rick Ashley quickly forged a tight bond with his brother-in-law, Michael. There was a memorable trip to Disney World. Other times, they would just hang out.

But that Michael, who has Down syndrome, would come to serve as the centerpiece of a series of images that would gain national acclaim is something of a happy accident.

Residents can see many of those same images on display in the Larrabee Gallery at the Marblehead Arts Association through Feb. 26.

The project with Michael began when Ashley learned from his neighbor, accomplished photography editor, author and publisher Dennis Curtin, of a new way to transform a digital photograph. You could email the digital file to China, where it would be given to art school students. Before you knew it, you would receive back a canvas bearing the brush-stroked version of the original image.

“I thought that was a spectacular idea,” Ashley said.

But what kind of image would translate best to the canvas, Ashley wondered. He settled on an image of Michael as the archetypal author, sporting a tweet jacket and holding a pipe. That first “Michael” piece is among those now hanging at the MAA.

Ashley said that he was so pleased with that first painting, he went a

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