Written by: Aaron Knapp, Newberg Graphic

While 18-year-old Chase Vostinak faces many of the same stresses and distractions as anyone else his age as he juggles school, a part-time job and feeding various passions, all of those typical cares are compounded for him by autism.

Yet, when he steps up to a blank canvas, all of those stresses seem to fall away – swept aside as a clear focus comes to his mind while he allows art to instinctively flow from his hand onto the piece in front of him.

"An important thing to know about me is that I defeat autism every day," he says in his artist statement. "The world is loud and distracting for me. When I am creating art, my brain is quiet and focused. I feel like I can do anything."

Vostinak, a senior at Newberg High School, will show some of those works to the community next week as the Chehalem Cultural Center unveils a collection of his paintings in the community gallery. The collection includes a variety of works experimenting with blending colors with splotches, blending and dripping paint.

Vostinak, a senior at Newberg High School, will show some of those works to the community next week as the Chehalem Cultural Center unveils a collection of his paintings in the community gallery. The collection includes a variety of works experimenting with blending colors with splotches, blending and dripping paint.