Horace Pippin

My mother and I spent Veteran's Day (this past Tuesday) at an art gallery downtown, and my favorite piece in the exhibit was by an American artist named Horace Pippin. Though I enjoyed many of the other styles just as much, Pippin's painting actually caught my attention because of his story. 

While fighting in World War I, Pippin was shot badly, and he ultimately lost the use of his right arm. Upon return from the war, he took up drawing again for the first time since he was a small child. The war had deeply affected him and it influenced much of his art. But, being right-handed, he had to relearn how to draw. Instead of teaching himself with his left hand, Pippin propped up his right arm and guided it with his left. And there in that exhibit was one of his paintings. An exhibit honoring the best artists from Post-Impressionism to Pop art. His painting among those of Kandinsky, Pollock, Warhol, Kahlo, O'Keefe, and many more. He was one of the best at a profession entirely dependent on the skill of his right hand. 

So what's my excuse?