1. William Flewellen Heard BY MAX TRIMPER

2. William Flewellen Heard Date of Birth: 2-12-1975 Date of ReBirth: 3-14-2000 Residence: Tupelo,MS.

3. William Flewellen Heard was thrown from an automobile in an accident near Tupelo, Mississippi. Two vertebrae’s were broken in his neck. William became a quadriplegic and then an artist.

4. His passion grew when he watched the film “Pollock” about the painter Jackson Pollock. Pollock was famous for his drip technique. That was something he thought he could do. That inspired him to have an operation on the tendons in his wrist to restore use of his wrist.

5. He experimented with various methods of delivering paint to canvas until he tried sticking a plastic spoon into a styrofoam ball. Gripping the ball enabled him to dip a spoon into cups of paint and then drizzle it on the canvas.

6. Artwork

7. Many months of experimentation led to the discovery of a new method for William. He poured different colors into one cup that resulted in multi-colored streams of color. For him colors exploded. He became an artist living independently. He knew that anything was possible.

8. He became involved in L.I.F.E. a state wide non- profit organization that is dedicated to the empowerment of people with significant disabilities. This shows them how to be independent and fully involved in their communities.

9. Through L.I.F.E. he was able to start a non-profit organization for people with spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries. He also has written a book “William Flewellen Heard” Selected works of 2005- 2010.

10. He has painted everything from abstracts, homes, cityscapes, and butterflies which became his trademark. The butterfly was the image that first came to him. It has all the colors, and is a symbol of rebirth.

11. I like this artist because he has a disability like I do.His type of painting is something I can do. His dog Primo even gets splattered with paint. He writes a a poem on the back of each of his paintings. “ Do what you love. Love what you do. We have everything we need inside To be happy.”