David Kontra"Hunting High & Low"
Original acrylic on canvas
8" x 10"
Collection of Carol Adamec
David Kontra is a self-taught artist with whom I became acquainted while working for Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, David now resides outside of Hartville in rural Missouri.
Many of David's paintings and titles are inspired by the lyrics of pop music or deal with current events from the media. David calls himself a "contemporary expressionism artist" and confesses that, "I paint what I see, what I think, and what I feel at the moment, and it’s not always pretty."
Although colorful in rendering, the paintings can be dark in tone, often with figures placed in an urban setting. “I painting all kinds of people because there are so many kinds of people out there,” David notes.
Perhaps the most incredible thing about David's powerful imagery is that he is legally blind. His condition is due to a degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa. Currently he has less than 5 percent vision in one eye and only light perception in the other. He paints with his face just an inch or two from the canvas surface.
"Hunting High & Low" shown in today's post was one of David's many artworks included in Spiva's 2007 exhibit, In the Company of Outsiders. The painting now resides in my studio, a constant reminder to me that "where there's a will, there is a way" to create.
If you would like to see more of David's paintings, visit his website: www.DavidKontra.com.
Many thanks to those who left a comment/sent an email about Friday's "Detail: California Calla." I appreciate your kind comments. And thanks for taking a moment to read today's post.
See you Wednesday. ———————————————————————————————————————————
Image ©David Kontra, text ©Carol Adamec 2008. All rights reserved.
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