The Bigfork Art and Cultural Center will showcase a series of clock paintings tonight that were created by a woman whose obsession became her artwork.

Leanne Shepherd, 32, is a resident at Lighthouse Christian Home, a long-term assisted living facility for adults with disabilities.

The walls outside her bedroom are covered in paintings of blue cats with long legs and stripes, bright fish facing each other and — predominantly — clocks.

“People don’t think about clocks all that much,” Shepherd said. “But I think they are extremely important. What would we do without time?”

She has Asperger’s syndrome, a somewhat hidden disability. Symptoms vary among different people. For many people, it leads them to focus on one passion such as trains, the weather, or, in Shepherd’s case, clocks.

When Shepherd talks about painting clocks, she talks in quick details and laughs often.

In seconds she transitioned from talking about the material used in cuckoo clocks to reciting her favorite models of grandfather clocks, who created them and where they originated from.

Shepherd began painting as a freshman in high school. In her art class, she could express the stories she didn’t always know how to communicate to others. The cat and fish in her daydreams suddenly came to life for her classmates and teachers to see.

“I realized that anything is possible when I paint,” she said.

With a clock painting, she can freeze time and capture the mood of her day. Shepherd estimated in the roughly 18 years she has been painting, she’s covered every minute in the day — maybe twice.

Though her subject is consistent, her work varies.

In one painting, a green clock with Roman numerals sits on a bright pink canvas. In another, each minute is represented by a dot and is highlighted by yellows. A detailed clock with an Arabic face hangs next to a clock with an intentionally imperfect oval face.

Her work is abstract and carefully planned.

Shirley Willis, the executive director at Lighthouse, said tonight’s show will be the first time a resident’s work is on display for the community to see.

“Her paintings really show the diversity and talent that adults with disabilities often have,” Willis said. “Creativity is a part of who she is, and that’s something that I’m excited for others to see.”

Shepherd pulled blank canvases from her room and outlined plans for future pieces. She is debating adding a fourth recurring subject — a bison — though she said that would take more practice before she commits to it on canvas.

More than a dozen wall clocks ticked in the background as she shifted through her acrylic paint. Seven wristwatches that she set out for each day of the week were out on her dresser.

She smiled as she talked about her art being displayed in Bigfork.

“I’ve been hoping that the world could see it,” she said. “I just didn’t know that would happen.”

The reception for Shepherd’s artwork will be from 5 to 7 p.m. at 525 Electric Ave. in Bigfork. For more information about the event, call (406) 837-6927.