But it's only been during the past year that he made that dream a reality.
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"Every day, he brings home a new painting and it's just another one to put up on the wall," his father Neal Sullivan said.
Sullivan, 18, has been able to paint thanks in part to the treatment he's been receiving at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, where doctors have helped to loosen the muscles in his hand.
"He put it to the canvas and he created really beautiful art with a hand that people told him he would never be able to use," CHLA orthopedic surgeon Dr. Nina Lightdale-Miric said.
The Orange County Register newspaper recognized Sullivan as a finalist for the "OC Artist of the Year" award.
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"It makes me proud," Sullivan said.
CHLA plans to display his work on its walls for all to see.
"Matthew's work shows what's possible and will inspire the children coming through Children's Hospital," Lightdale-Miric said.