Putting Stephen Wiltshire on the Map

The second season of one of my favorite Netflix series starts today! Atypical is about a teenager on the autism spectrum (and his family) navigating life, and specifically, romance. It’s a little like The Rosie Project, if you’ve read that book. It’s sweet and serious and funny and I’m hooked. Check it out if you are so inclined and let me know what you think!

The most noteworthy painter (that I know of) who is rumored to have been on the spectrum is Michelangelo, but more recently Stephen Wiltshire has rocked the world with his cityscapes. Wiltshire is autistic, and a genius with buildings. He was commissioned at age 8 by Britain’s Prime Minister for heaven’s sake! 

Can you get over this detail?!?! The soft waves! The Eye! The buildings!

And did I mention he does much of his work from memory? He takes a quick helicopter ride, then draws these perfectly detailed cities and we commoners fall flat on our faces over them. Wiltshire has drawn other big cities like New York, Sydney, Rome, Hong Kong, and the list goes on. If you haven’t heard of Stephen Wiltshire yet, you will. He is getting more and more recognition city by intricately drawn city.