Artist Dan Duggar rents studio space at the Jefferson Arts Gallery. While he’s primarily worked in pencil drawings over the course of his 72 years, he now has his sights set on oil painting for 5 to 6 days a week. He subscribes to the belief that you must put 10,000 hours of practice into anything that you want to master.

Duggar has possessed a natural knack for drawing since he was a young boy. Although his life and work often put art on hold, he’s looking forward to re-dedicating himself to becoming an artist and making an impact in Jefferson County. He wants to start with the “Homespun Holiday Ornament Show and Sale,” a free event at the gallery happening now through Jan. 5. 

“I always admire parents who put children in art classes and provide them with what they need and support them through all of that,” says Duggar. “My goal is to help the Jefferson Arts Gallery to become better known with hopefully some way to reach out to children. I think it’s real important that children who have an innate talent have an outlet to develop it.” 

Duggar describes the house he was born in as a “two-room shack” with no running water in the coal fields of Kentucky. His parents were from the Depression era and believed in receiving a good education above all else. However, he said that didn’t stop his mother from providing him with paper, pencil and her unwavering support. 

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