By JON BAKER

PROVIDENCE  —  How Pawtucket resident Jeffrey Sparr became a successful artist, one who has sold dozens of acrylic paintings at prices ranging into thousands of dollars, stuns even himself.

What’s more intriguing is that an affliction called Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder helped him find that hobby-turned-part-time professional job.
During the day, Sparr — a 45-year-old husband to Jennifer and father of three — acts as president/CEO to Textiles2, Inc., a solid sales, marketing and management corporation on the verge of its ninth birthday. However, when he feels his OCD getting the better of him, he retreats to the basement/art studio located under his 1 Charles St. business, for a bit of “brush-stroke” therapy.
“I’ve never taken lessons, but — yeah — I’ve looked at a couple of books,” Sparr, who founded Peace Love Organization with Jennifer this year — proudly stated Thursday afternoon. “I know a long time ago, some people involved with art would show me how to paint a certain way, but that wasn’t me. I’ve always done my own thing. I guess you say I do abstract stuff, but I have an abstract disease.
“If you notice my images, there are no faces,” he added. “You know why? I can’t draw faces.”
Fact is, Sparr now has been deemed so talented in his work, Butler Hospital (on Providence’s East Side) — where he has sought treatment for years now — chose to hang six of his original creations on its walls during a Nov. 19 press conference.
The collection includes works from his popular “Mind” and “Peace Love” series, and also a “quadruplet” entitled “Getting Better,” not to mentioned his famed “The Peace Man,” which he composed on campus that very day.
In addition, every two weeks, Sparr instructs youngsters ages 6-15 (with similar afflictions) as to the nuances of painting while explaining how this particular hobby has made him more whole.
“I’ve waited to do this for years now,” Sparr grinned. “I wanted to put my artwork up at Butler, though one of my stipulations was to place them on blank walls that I myself have stared at so often … OCD is a daily struggle. In fact, I told somebody just (Thursday) that the daunting task of trying to accomplish what we do here in the textiles business is ‘small-fry’ stuff to battling what I have to experience every day.
“On the outside, it all looks good, I look fine,” he added. “On the inside, I’m experiencing a real-world problem, and I have to deal with it all the time. Trust me, it’s not easy.”

***

Born in The Bronx, N.Y. on Feb. 26, 1963, his family moved to Providence when he was a youngster, and later attended Moses Brown School. It was there he developed into a superb tennis player, eventually winning New England age-group crowns.
Not surprisingly, Sparr received a scholarship to Ohio State University, and ended up with four varsity letters and achieving Buckeyes’ captain status.
The way he figures it, while an OSU junior, he felt he was “going crazy.” Incredibly, he said, it started with a case of jock itch, caused by so many hours on the court.
“That’s when I started experiencing some of the symptoms,” he said without a hint of embarrassment. “I had it once, and it went away. But then I noticed I kept checking my midsection, thinking it would come back. I thought I had it, but -- of course -- I didn’t. I was so worried, I’d change my styles of underwear, how I wore it. I’d change powders and lotions, and it got to be out of control.
“Toward the end of college, I was thinking something was definitely wrong, not with the jock itch but with my head, what I was feeling,” he added. “It’s not atypical for an athlete to be superstitious about certain things, especially someone who was an NCAA Division I athlete. There’s a lot of pressure on you, and that’s what I chalked it up to -- initially.”
Upon graduation in May 1985 with a Bachelor’s of Arts in economics, the same demons haunted him. He felt out of control, always “stressed out” about his thoughts.
“Let’s put it this way: It’s a very powerful disease,” he said. “Here’s an example: You’re a parent in the backyard with your two-year-old daughter, who’s swimming in the pool. You hear the phone ring, so you go inside to answer it. You’re on the phone about 15 seconds, and when you come back, your daughter is gone. There’s no kid. Any parent can understand that incredible level of anxiety.
“The thing is, someone with this affliction experiences that type of anxiety all the time,” he continued. “It’s completely ridiculous, but you get so worried about things so minor. You end up experiencing the same level of anxiety over a drowning or missing child as something that’s completely irrational. It has the power to make you think something absolutely horrifying has occurred … OCD is like a snowball gaining momentum as it moves downhill.”
At age 24, while living and working in Providence, Sparr claimed he got “fed up” with such feelings of isolation and stress, so contacted a doctor. Minutes after explaining his dilemma, the physician told him he was a textbook example of OCD, which is charcterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions).
The most common include handwashing, counting, checking or cleaning, often performed with the hope of preventing obsessive thoughts or making them go away. Performing these so-called rituals, however, provides only temporary relief, and not performing such markedly increased anxiety.
“Finally, I could place a name with it, and I was, like, ‘Whew! Thank God, I’m not crazy,’” Sparr said. “I was also thinking, ‘What the hell do I have to do to get better?’ I will say I attacked it with the same fervor I did as an athlete.”

***

Sparr claimed he already knew that Butler Hospital had one of the nation’s leading psychiatrists, Dr. Steven Rasmussen, on its OCD team, so sought treatment.
How he became involved in art is another story.
“I thought I had to do something to relax, so I started painting,” he grinned. “The wife of one of my business partners got me into it. I remember standing in front of a canvas in her basement, and I tried it. It mellowed me out somewhat, and I liked the idea of creating something. One of the things that drew me to it, and continues to do so, was the vision and creativiity.
“In the business world, you can have that, but sometimes you can’t control what you want to accomplish, and it gets frustrating,” he added. “With my painting, I control everything. It’s my concept, and nobody can tell me what to do with it. Good, bad or indifferent, you get a result.”
He started with abstract figures of people, and began making holiday cards for Hannukah or New Year’s to send to clients and friends. Slow but sure, he received positive responses.
“Honestly, I think I developed a cult kind of following for my paintings,” he shrugged. “I now have sold well over 100, and people will spend thousands for them. It’s unbelievable. This is better than any business deal I’ve ever been a part of -- I know I did it, and that I put my heart and soul into it. When somebody recognizes it, it feels fantastic.”
Back on Aug. 2, he exhibited some of his work at the Newport Folk Festival, and quickly found another fan in Tom Zotos, who has created artwork for some of the world’s most recognizable brands, including Hard Rock Café, House of Blues and Warner Brothers.
“I became Jeff’s art director/consultant because his logo -- a peace sign with a heart -- intrigued me when I first saw it,” Zotos said. “I thought it was captivating. We talked, and became fast friends … His stuff is incredible. Right now, he’s only scratching the surface. He’s able to paint on multiple subject matters. It could be romance, sports or fashion.”
Stated Sparr, who has been the subject of OCD documentaries for NBC Nightly News and, lately, the Discovery Channel: “My favorite is ‘Peace Love Means To Me … (a depiction of five figures standing by each others’ side, arms around each other, with red, open hearts above them in thought) … One of the things about my work is I move quickly to show movement and life, and it shows in the work I turn out.”
He still struggles with OCD, but takes Prozac and paints to help him alleviate pangs of the disease.
“Someday, I’d like to develop a curriculum at Butler under the Peace Love moniker, and then export that curriculum to hospitals, schools, nursing homes and the like. There’s no end to this to help people understand there’s a life beyond OCD.”