Art that’s all about true grit
By HANNAH DRISCOLL
‘DEAR Friend, Where there is a will, there is a way. That’s how we started to paint by mouth or foot.”
That is the opening of a letter from the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists to its supporters, about their latest release of greeting cards featuring paintings by members from both Australia and overseas. And one of the artists, well known for his skills with paintbrushes and a canvas, is behind the beautiful cursive script of the letter.
It has been almost 40 years since a fall from the roof of a hay shed left Simon Rigg a quadriplegic. Learning to paint with a brush in his mouth became part of his rehabilitation, and he would later join MFPA in Australia.
For Simon, paintbrushes are like a “key, to open up conversation, open up a view to other people’s lives and for other people to talk about their lives”.