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Greg DePauw
Born
into a family of artists, Greg’s dream of becoming a professional artist was
abruptly altered two weeks before graduating from high school. While attempting
a triple flip on the trampoline in his backyard, Greg landed on his neck and
crushed two vertebrae that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Greg is an
incomplete quadriplegic, which means his spinal cord is injured—not severed.
He has regained some use of his hands and arms and, in spite of this disability,
has worked as a professional artist for over 25 years.
Greg
has faced and overcome numerous challenges in his life. One of these challenges
included learning how to draw again with no or limited use of his hands. Shortly
after the accident, Greg’s father devised a way for Greg to draw with his
mouth while lying in the hospital bed. Greg was determined to draw!
At
the Craig Rehabilitation Center in Colorado, Greg slowly regained the use of his
hands. He developed a large group of watercolor paintings while in Colorado, and
this was the starting point of his career as an artist. To this day, he has kept
part of that early drawing device in his studio as a reminder of his progress.
Energized
with a new respect for life and independence, Greg went off to college. He
graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in art education. He has
put his degree to good use. Greg has conducted numerous art workshops and
classes for children and adults.
Greg’s
enjoys the challenges in teaching young people how to use watercolors because of
the inherent degree of difficulty in mastering various watercolor techniques.
Greg understands and wants to show his students the parallel between achieving
success in watercolors and achieving success in life-hard
work and perseverance can lead to great achievements.
In
addition to being an educator, Greg has displayed and sold his artwork in
professional galleries, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Also, Greg’s artwork is in several prestigious corporate and private
collections.
Greg
keeps breaking down barriers that say, “No, you can’t do that.” His motto
is “It’s what you do with your disability that defines you.” This positive
attitude has allowed Greg to become a prolific artist at this early stage in his
life.
Some
of his artwork can even be purchased on this Web site. Displayed on this Web
site are pieces of art that are uniquely personalized with a collection of
mementos from the past. Meaning is expressed through the use of these mementos,
such as old jewelry, wooden shapes, plastic animals, and a myriad of other small
“found objects.” Some of these small treasures were once valuable and then
cast aside. Now these items become revitalized
as a new detail assembled onto the metal painted surface that blends the use of
color and texture. (The parallels continue...)
Please
review the Artwork
Gallery and
contact Greg with your responses and inquiries about his artwork. Greg also
enjoys designing and completing commissioned art and site-specific pieces for
the home or office. Thank
You.
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Send mail to
mattmetz@aol.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
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