Description
George started going blind at age 15 from a degenerative eye disease. George lost his central vision and started seeing things that weren't there--eyes floating in the air, extraordinary colors, objects multiplied and reflected back. He triumphed over his blindness by setting the world record in the mile for blind runners, competing in the Olympics for the Disabled, and becoming a full time painter.
ISBN
1930900732 / 9781930900738
Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Purple House Press (2014), 32 pages
User reviews
LibraryThing member shelf-employed
As a child, George Mendoza began seeing brilliantly-colored lights, shapes and squiggles, eventually losing most of his sight except his peripheral vision and the ever-present colors. Unable to play basketball or other do other things he wanted, George took up running. He excelled in the sport and
"One day, a flyer arrived in the mail,
advertising a contest for blind artists.
George remembered the priest, who told him,
"You should paint what you see."
George started to paint,
just like the priest told him to do."
And so began the painting career of George Mendoza.
The text appears in a plain, small font on white pages, accompanied by simple blank ink drawings, often highlighted with colors from Mendoza's paintings. Each facing page contains a full-bleed image of one of Mendoza's paintings.
Biographical information, photos of Mr. Mendoza, and painting titles are included in the book's back matter.
The joyful, riotous colors of Mendoza's paintings will certainly appeal to children, as will his story of perseverance and purpose. Enjoy!
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competed twice in the Olympics for the Disabled. In the back of his mind, however, he'd kept a long-ago word advice from his youth."One day, a flyer arrived in the mail,
advertising a contest for blind artists.
George remembered the priest, who told him,
"You should paint what you see."
George started to paint,
just like the priest told him to do."
And so began the painting career of George Mendoza.
The text appears in a plain, small font on white pages, accompanied by simple blank ink drawings, often highlighted with colors from Mendoza's paintings. Each facing page contains a full-bleed image of one of Mendoza's paintings.
Biographical information, photos of Mr. Mendoza, and painting titles are included in the book's back matter.
The joyful, riotous colors of Mendoza's paintings will certainly appeal to children, as will his story of perseverance and purpose. Enjoy!
Show Less
LibraryThing member Sullywriter
What's more remarkable than a blind Olympic-record setting runner? How about a blind Olympic-record setting runner who creates amazingly bold abstract paintings of swirling colors? This is the true story of the remarkable George Mendoza, the blind artist with a unique vision of the world.
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Beautiful, inspiring and triumphant. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
32 p.; 8.2 inches