Greg's Story

Born into a family of artists, Greg DePauw's dream of becoming a professional artist was abruptly altered two weeks before graduating from high school. While attempting a triple flip on the trampoline in his backyard, Greg landed on his neck and crushed two vertebrae that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Greg is an incomplete quadriplegic, which means his spinal cord is injured—not severed. He has regained some use of his hands and arms and, in spite of this disability, has worked as a professional artist for over 25 years. 

Greg has faced and overcome numerous challenges in his life. One of these challenges included learning how to draw again with no or limited use of his hands. Shortly after the accident, Greg’s father devised a way for Greg to draw with his mouth while lying in the hospital bed. Greg was determined to draw!  

At the Craig Rehabilitation Center in Colorado, Greg slowly regained the use of his hands. He developed a large group of watercolor paintings while in Colorado, and this was the starting point of his career as an artist. To this day, he has kept part of that early drawing device in his studio as a reminder of his progress.  

Energized with a new respect for life and independence, Greg went off to college. He graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in art education. He has put his degree to good use. Greg has conducted numerous art workshops and classes for children and adults.

Greg’s enjoys the challenges in teaching young people how to use watercolors because of the inherent degree of difficulty in mastering various watercolor techniques. Greg understands and wants to show his students the parallel between achieving success in watercolors and achieving success in life-hard work and perseverance can lead to great achievements. 

In addition to being an educator, Greg has displayed and sold his artwork in professional galleries, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Also, Greg’s artwork is in several prestigious corporate and private collections.  

Greg keeps breaking down barriers that say, “No, you can’t do that.” His motto is “It’s what you do with your disability that defines you.” This positive attitude has allowed Greg to become a prolific artist at this early stage in his life.