Chuck Close
"Ease is the enemy of the artist. When things get too easy, you're in trouble".
We discussed this quote in workshops this week when we looked at American photorealist, Chuck Close. His quote is particularly extraordinary given his life has been full of disability and suffering. He suffered a spinal stroke which left him paralysed as well as having face-blindness and severe dyslexia which caused much grief at school. A true survivor, he has paintbrushes strapped to his hands or uses his mouth to create the most incredible portraits. As one girl said 'he is resilient'. The kids created portraits using tissue paper and we marvelled at how Chuck Close has overcome so many setbacks in his life. And my cat found heaven sitting in the box of tissue paper!