Paul Smith - Typewriter Artist

This is such a wonderful story, I had to share. I had never heard of Paul Smith. A friend shared this information with me in an email.

 

 

 

Just a Typewriter

He lived at Rose Haven Nursing
Home ( Roseburg , OR ) for years.

Paul Smith, the man with extraordinary talent, was born
on September 21, 1921, with severe cerebral palsy.

Not only had Paul beaten the odds of a life with spastic
cerebral palsy, a disability that impeded his speech and
mobility but also taught himself to become a master artist
as well as a terrific chess player even after being devoid
of a formal education as a child.

"When typing, Paul used his left hand to steady his right one.
Since he couldn't press two keys at the same time,
he almost always locked the shift key down and
made his pictures using the symbols at the top
of the number keys.

In other words, his pictures were based on these
characters ..... @ # $ % ^ & * ( )_ .
Across seven decades,
Paul created hundreds of pictures.

He often gave the originals away.
Sometimes, but not always, he kept
or received a copy for his own records.

As his mastery of the typewriter grew,
he developed techniques to create
shadings, colors, and textures that made his
work resemble pencil or charcoal drawings."

This great man passed away on June 25, 2007,
but left behind a collection of his amazing
artwork that will be an inspiration for many.

 

For more on Paul Smith, check out the Paul Smith Foundation website. This man did not know the meaning of "I can't". What an inspiration!