Chuck Close

Chuck Thomas Close is an American painter and photographer who achieved fame as a photorealist, through his massive-scale portraits. Though a catastrophic spinal artery collapse in 1988 left him severely paralyzed, he has continued to paint and produce work which remains sought after by museums and collectors.

I think this is SO cool- he paints himself a lot big portraits and after he was paralyzed he continued to paint. I learned about him at Opportunity Village a not-for-profit organization that serves people with intellectual disabilities by providing them with vocational training, employment and social recreation services that make their lives more productive and interesting. I am volunteering here this summer while school is out. Its been a really cool experience.