David Simpson's artwork is his life, his main source of income, and his passion. Although, David Simpson says he does make some money babysitting a little 4-year-old named Lucy, the girl who he says has his heart.
"I'm helping a kid now because I fell in love with the little creature," Simpson says. "You know, the little ogre monster."
David began painting in 2000 after losing his job at a local newspaper. In college, he took graphic arts so when he was laid off, he went back to the thing he loved most: art.
"I just decided to really focus and pour everything into my artwork," David says. And so he did. Dozens of watercolors and acrylics are all lined up and hung in his apartment, which is where he does all of his painting. In fact, he does all of it in his kitchen. And he does all of it despite being legally blind.
Simpson has macular degeneration and retinal scarring. The condition causes impairment to the central portion of his vision, which started failing Simpson about 10 years ago.
"It's like if somebody were to place a piece of cellophane with some Vaseline on it in the central part of my vision and then shine a touch of light like a strong thing in the central," Simpson says.
For David, his impairment in an odd way helped him get vision in his painting. With the aid of several different magnifying glasses and altered lighting, David is able to use the palette of his brain to think back to when he could see, and that helps him create.
"Where I used to look at something and make it photo realistic," David says. "I now do that from memory."
David's paintings caught the attention of the Guild for the Blind. It also caught the attention of Executive Director of Guild for the Blind David Tabak who displays David's artwork in the Guild's Passionate Focus exhibit each year.
"David is just who he is and his work is just who he is," says David Tabak, Executive director of the Guild for the Blind. "He's not looking to impress anybody. He's just looking to communicate in any way he can, and I think in his art it's so powerful that he can do that."
David Simpson is undoubtedly one of Chicago's Very Own.
"I'm helping a kid now because I fell in love with the little creature," Simpson says. "You know, the little ogre monster."
David began painting in 2000 after losing his job at a local newspaper. In college, he took graphic arts so when he was laid off, he went back to the thing he loved most: art.
"I just decided to really focus and pour everything into my artwork," David says. And so he did. Dozens of watercolors and acrylics are all lined up and hung in his apartment, which is where he does all of his painting. In fact, he does all of it in his kitchen. And he does all of it despite being legally blind.
Simpson has macular degeneration and retinal scarring. The condition causes impairment to the central portion of his vision, which started failing Simpson about 10 years ago.
"It's like if somebody were to place a piece of cellophane with some Vaseline on it in the central part of my vision and then shine a touch of light like a strong thing in the central," Simpson says.
For David, his impairment in an odd way helped him get vision in his painting. With the aid of several different magnifying glasses and altered lighting, David is able to use the palette of his brain to think back to when he could see, and that helps him create.
"Where I used to look at something and make it photo realistic," David says. "I now do that from memory."
David's paintings caught the attention of the Guild for the Blind. It also caught the attention of Executive Director of Guild for the Blind David Tabak who displays David's artwork in the Guild's Passionate Focus exhibit each year.
"David is just who he is and his work is just who he is," says David Tabak, Executive director of the Guild for the Blind. "He's not looking to impress anybody. He's just looking to communicate in any way he can, and I think in his art it's so powerful that he can do that."
David Simpson is undoubtedly one of Chicago's Very Own.
