[accessibleimage] Legally blind artist returns to vocation with a vision after long hiatus

Forwarding from the AEB list
Regards,
Lisa

MLive.com, Michigan
Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Legally blind artist returns to vocation with a vision after long hiatus

By BRIDIE KENT

>From his Butterworth Drive studio on Grand Rapids' West Side, painter 

>>Robert Koval puts the finishing touches on a landscape from John Ball 
>>Park.The scene doesn't include the little details signs, a distant 
>>playground, or children at play one might associate with the area. The 
>>artist said he leaves the technicalities to postcards.Legally blind since 
>>birth, Koval uses only light and color to guide his brush along the 
>>canvas."When I first saw paintings by Monet," he said, "I thought, My God, 
>>this guy is painting like I see.'"In his artist's statement, he writes, 
>>"One's vision is one's world." While his blindness has created challenges 
>>for Koval, 41, it is this perceived disability that enhanced his art."It 
>>really ended up being an immense gift," he said. "If I could have anything 
>>I wanted right now, it wouldn't be my eyesight."From a wooded path ablaze 
>>with fall color to a meandering stream in a shaded forest, Koval manages to 
>>capture scenery with his brush and no more or less diligence than a sighted 
>>artist. He does, however, sit a bit closer to the canvas as he paints. The 
>>subject matter depends on what has caught his eye in a given week."I'm 
>>always looking for the patterns in shapes and light," he said. "I squint my 
>>eyes and I keep looking for more information. What you see is all you can 
>>paint."Koval said he tries to convey a dynamic stillness in his work."I 
>>have no interest in emoting or making a statement. My work is not 
>>didactic," he said. "I have a mantra when I paint that says, arrest the 
>>mind and enchant the heart.'"Because he is legally blind, Koval does a lot 
>>of walking to get to his destinations. He carries his $9 drugstore camera 
>>with him everywhere he goes. When he comes upon a scene that facilitates 
>>that "arrest" of the mind, he snaps a photo, and paints it. His 
>>nature-laden work is brimming with color, both muted and vibrant."We all 
>>have a certain color vibration," said Koval, dressed in jeans and a faded, 
>>bright orange sweatshirt. "There is a certain palate of colors that is 
>>natural to us, that is a reflection or denial of ourselves. We say so much 
>>by what we wear."The same, he said, is true in the colors used in his 
>>art.Koval has been drawing all of his life, but he never picked up a brush 
>>until he stepped foot into Gail Madison's art room at Grand Ledge High 
>>School. At the time, he said, he was going down a dark road. Because he is 
>>blind and an albino, Koval said, he experienced daily prejudice. He tried 
>>to play sports and do many of the things that normal teenagers did, but 
>>soon learned he couldn't. Madison changed all of that. "She was the first 
>>person to really see me and treat me with respect," he said, "and not take 
>>any crap from me."Madison would discover him skipping school and invite him 
>>into her classroom, provided he would work. She gave him a lifeline, he 
>>said, and encouraged him to go to art school. In 1982, Koval came to Grand 
>>Rapids, where he enrolled in Kendall College and ultimately received a 
>>bachelor's degree in fine arts. "In college, I worked my butt off," he 
>>said. "The talent was there. I can't claim any pride over it. It was just 
>>honing the skills that became important."In the 1990s, he received his 
>>teaching degree from Aquinas College. He worked as a substitute teacher for 
>>a while, then taught at Godfrey-Lee Alternative and Gateway Charter Academy 
>>for five years."While teaching has always been in my temperament, it wasn't 
>>my calling. There's no time for a life while you're teaching," he said. 
>>Subsequently, he hadn't picked up a brush in years.Two years ago, after a 
>>decade long hiatus from painting, he returned to painting full-time in what 
>>he calls a "self-imposed grad school" regimen. At the time, he didn't even 
>>know if he could paint anymore. Prior to the decision, he said, he didn't 
>>have the discipline to be an artist."But life is short and time is 
>>precious, so I took that risk. It was a leap of faith," he said.Now, after 
>>two years of work, Koval feels he is ready to make his debut. From 5 to 9 
>>p.m. this Saturday, Koval will host an exhibition of his new paintings at 
>  
>
>From the Heart Yoga Center, 940 E. Fulton St. in Grand Rapids. The 

>>exhibition is open to the general public."Finally I've come to a point 
>>where I think I'm ready to launch my work. This is my coming out' party," 
>>he said.Alticor, Bissell, and United Bank of Michigan, among others, have 
>>purchased Koval's art for their corporate headquarters. His work also has 
>>been featured in other area exhibitions. But the one-night exhibition will 
>>mark the formal re-entry into the art world and a catalyst for his 
>>career.In a country where a popular chain restaurant is named for an adage 
>>thanking God for the weekend, and bumper stickers say things like I'd 
>>rather be fishing,' Koval's attitude may appear refreshing to many. He 
>>loves what he does and says he gains solace and the bigger life picture, 
>>which wasn't so obvious in his disgruntled youth, from his work. "It 
>>doesn't mean I don't get scared, mad, jealous, or angry," he said. "There 
>>is sometimes a poor viewpoint of the artistic life and artists have helped 
>>contribute to that but true artists have to know a lot about a lot of 
>>things," said Koval. "It requires everything of you. You have to check in 
>>and ask yourself, "Do I have the talent, the stamina, the discipline. Can I 
>>take rejection?'"Recently, Koval said, an art magazine rejected one of his 
>>submissions, but he didn't take it personally. He doesn't belabor any one 
>>piece of work, but allows his talent and experience to dictate the product. 
>>He spends just enough time on each painting, and no more. When asked, he 
>>said each painting takes him about a week to complete."But what did Picasso 
>>say to that question?" said Koval. "He said, I've been working on it my 
>>entire life.'"For more information on Koval or to see his paintings, visit 
>>his Web site
>  
>

www.robertkoval.com.



http://www.mlive.com/news/advancenewspapers/sparta/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1115144443278960.xml

Other related posts: