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=Chuck Close =

Chuck Thomas Close was born July 5, 1940 in Monroe, Washington. His early life was not easy. Everyone thought of him as big and clumsy. He was even dyslexic, which made him sterotypically "dumber." When playing games, he could never keep up with his friends, and he was told to just give up on life. One thing to help him cope with the agony, Close turned to art. He always loved drawing and painting, and did it very well. When he was only four years old, he made up his up his mind that he wanted to become an artist.

The difficulties to cope through life did not stop there. When Close was eleven years old, he was diagnosed with a kidney infection known as nephritis. His father died from a stoke. Close found his father lying in a pool of blood. His mother, a trained pianist, was diagnosed with breast cancer. The medical fees added up, and they lost their house. His grandmother was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

In 1962, he graduated from the University of Washington and got his Bachelor of Arts Degree, and in 1964, he graduated from Yale University and got his Master of Fine Arts Degree. At the age of 48, Close was in NYC at an artists' ceremony. He felt a strange feeling in his chest. After he gave his speech, the was taken to Beth Israel Medical Center where he suffered a seizure. His spinal artery collapsed, which left him paralyzed from the neck down. This day was know as "The Event." The went through therapies and rehabilitation classes to strengthen his muscles. Soon, he was able to take only a few steps at a time. His still relies on a wheelchair today.

Despite his paralysis, Close continues to paint. With a paintbrush strapped to his wrist, he managed to paint to the best of his ability. His painting technique was to create large portraits in low-resolution grid squares. Even though he was restricted from some things like creating big pictures, he managed to still create fine art.

He has recently been diagnosed with cancer and is in excruciating pain from decades of leaning forward in his wheelchair to paint. His marriage of four decades recently fell apart. It hasn’t been easy being Chuck Close.