Guess who painted this picture? Or better yet, guess how they painted it.

It was painted by Natalina Marcantoni with her mouth.

The Mouth and Foot Painting Artists are a non-charity group whose members use their mouth or their feet to paint art because they have lost the use of their hands. They create paintings that are made into postcards, bookmarks, calendars, books, notepaper, gift wrap, address books, birthday books, jigsaw puzzles, wall hangings and greeting cards and sold to support their group.

The Mouth and Foot Painting Artist group began in Europe in 1956 when Erich Stegmann, a man with polio, got together with other people with disabilities. “Their ultimate goal was to make their living through their artistic efforts, and to obtain a sense of work security that until then had eluded them.”

Their objectives are to find and contact people that have lost the use of their hands and help them become painting artists. They continue to offer moral support and the financial ability to continue practicing their craft. Some students have their tuition paid to attend artist’s school. With the paintings, they contact publishing houses and recreate their work to support their organization.

“Anyone who has lost the use of their hands and paints by holding the brush in their mouth or with their feet, regardless of race, creed or color can join Mouth and Foot Painting Artists.”

You can order online and are very reasonably priced. A 25 card assortment box is $20.70 or four color reproduction prints are priced at $19.95. There are many more to choose from at http://www.mfpausa.com/. Go to ‘Our Products’ the select ‘Order Form.’

Posted by Kate Valdovinos. Information obtained from http://www.mfpausa.com/.