Surgeon finds a balance between beauty and healing

For him, creating vibrant art and performing life-altering orthopedic surgeries go hand-in-hand.

Issue: March 2007

Performing intricate orthopedic surgeries and brushing paint onto a blank canvas bring peace and fulfillment to Ed Ashman, MD.

When painting, Ashman loves starting out with a blank canvas and ending with something beautiful. As an orthopedic surgeon, he loves having the ability to dramatically improve a patient’s quality of life.

‘The Stretch' part of Ashman’s dancers collection
Using acrylics, ‘The Stretch’ is part of Ashman’s dancers collection.

‘The Teacher' part of Ashman’s dancers collection
Also made with acrylics, ‘The Teacher’ shows a ballet class working at the Barré.

‘The Mists of Time' an abstract figurative piece
‘The Mists of Time’ is one of Ashman’s abstract figurative pieces. Ashman wrote the poem that is to the right of the woman, which expresses the theme of the painting, he said.

'A Peck of Peppers'
Ashman chose peppers as his subject for this painting, ‘A Peck of Peppers,’ because of their vibrant colors.

Images: Ashman E

“Both activities require being able to picture an end result and how to get from a starting point to that end result. The biggest difference between the two is that if a painting is not turning out exactly as planned, but something interesting and unexpected is happening, as an artist one can feel free to continue in that direction just to see how it turns out. If it doesn’t turn out well, you can start over or paint over,” Ashman told Orthopedics Today. “In surgery, that is clearly not an option, so in that situation, a surgeon has to step back and figure out exactly how to get back on the planned path again.”

Early interest

Born and raised in Johnson City, New York, Ashman found himself intrigued by art from a young age. “Drawing and painting have always interested me, ever since I was a child,” Ashman said. “I can’t ever remember a time when I did not color or draw. My parents encouraged me in my art from a young age.”

Throughout high school, Ashman took several classes in art and photography. In college, even though he was pursuing a degree in biology with a concentration in neurosurgery at the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University, he made sure to take plenty of art courses.

Now, he continues to teach himself by reading books and using the Internet. “Like learning about medicine, art education is a lifetime experience,” Ashman said.

Ashman received his Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell in 1992 and later received his medical degree from Albany Medical College, Albany, NY in 1997.

Since 2003, Ashman has been working at the Nevada Orthopedic and Spine Center in Las Vegas, Nev., utilizing his fellowship training in the surgical treatment of athletic injuries of the elbow, knee and shoulder. He also works as a team physician for local high schools. Ashman is board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and a candidate member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.

The human form

Although he works primarily with acrylics on canvas, Ashman enjoys working with mixed media to create textural effects. Not surprisingly, his artwork tends to focus on the human figure. “The detailed study of anatomy and the human body in motion lends itself well to this subject,” Ashman said. “It’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation, since my interest in how the human body works is what led me to orthopedics originally, and later to the study of sports medicine.”

Being an orthopedist and artist are very important to Ashman, who feels that the balance of these two professions allows him to exercise both sides of his brain and use all of his skills.

“My surgical work is incredibly rewarding and I can’t imagine a better career. At the same time, I find that having a creative outlet as an artist is very important to me as a way to exercise a different part of my brain, and a way to take my mind off the occasional pressures of surgical work,” Ashman said.

Despite his strong interest in human anatomy, he does enjoy still life, nature scenes and paintings of animals, he said. Most of Ashman’s paintings are abstract because he enjoys using loose, flexible brush strokes. “I find this style to be very relaxing, although it is sometimes more difficult to do properly than a more ‘realistic’ one,” he said.

Ashman’s artwork is on display and for sale at Art Encounter, a gallery in Las Vegas.

‘Venus Mosaic’ Ashman's acrylic abstracts
‘Venus Mosaic’ is one of Ashman’s acrylic abstracts.

Part of Ashman’s tennis mosiac series
This painting is the second in Ashman’s tennis mosiac series.

The ‘Chess Thinker’ shows a pensive player plotting his next move.

For more information
Ed Ashman, MD, Nevada Orthopedic & Spine Center, 2650 N. Tenaya Way, Suite 301, Las Vegas, NV 89128; 702-878-0393;ed@edashman.com; www.edashman.com.
AfterRounds features orthopedists who create original art or music, or may have a unique hobby or skill. We welcome recommendations of physician friends and colleagues who deserve recognition for their talents.
Please e-mail the name and contact information of an orthopedist who fits these criteria to: eworden@slackinc.com.