The end of the year is coming soon and I would to thank
everyone who has made an inquiry into a speaking engagement. I am especially
grateful to those who have invited me to their schools and organizations. It may be a spark for others to follow their
passion in life, but your positive responses also regenerates me after an
appearance. My recently those travels included a live painting
demonstration at a DC Metro Theater, a panel at the United Nations, as well as
an trip to China for a international art exhibit.
What should you expect upon an inspirational speaker? With
me, there are no prepared scripts instead offering a spontaneous journey of
life experiences.I often find that a
cookie cutter outline which most keynote presenter’s use is not as personal.If
your schedule would allow it, I could also provide a drawing demonstration of how my artwork is created.The silver lining in an engagement focuses on
my accomplishments but more importantly I want each viewer to be more inspired
by every-day journey.
“King Gimp” was a story that so
many could relate to.It was about
finding placement in life with independence, family, friends, education,
breaking barriers and molding passions.True love was in raw form making each viewer understand the parallel
within their own life.The challenges of
my disability became a mystery of how I was able to defeat the odds.“If Dan can…so can I” became one of my most
favorite responses.Truly, I am amazed
how a humble hometown man can be ‘the reason’ to such inspiration.Passion is unveiled being a keynote speaker.
My art and live presentations brings thoughts out of my isolation.
I would like to thank Master Rick Hammond for inviting me to Baltimore Elite Martial Arts Academy in
order to share my film and life with his campers and staff. The ages ranged
from 3 1/5 to 7, so Brianna and I were asked some good questions. I had to
laugh when we stopped the film two times, so they can do jumping jacks and
push-ups when the younger ones got antsy.It is good to see a place that teaches respect, but also knows what is
reasonable from the age groups.
I often get asked, if there was a magic pill or magic wand would I use
it to undo my disability?I always say
no: because my disability is just part of my personality, it makes me who I am.
One camper said we should just make a magic wand to have.
When work was done Daniel son and his Maters got to play, White Belt,
check!By the way Brianna was across the
room for more then one reason.
Dan’s friends tape charcoal or paint brush to his head stick device to enable him to create art.
Free Past
Painting by Dan Keplinger
My Nights
Painting by Dan Keplinger
Some Bum
Painting by Dan Keplinger
Dan Keplinger is featured in the award-winning, short documentary
King Gimp “It does feel good to be respected and appreciated for who I am.”- Dan Keplinger
“In my work I hope to show everybody that they have the ability to persevere.”- Dan Keplinger
Painter’s canvas becomes his voice
Dan Keplinger, artist, motivational speaker and the subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary King Gimp, isn’t sure if he discovered his voice through art, or if art gave him a voice. For Dan his passion for art began when his high school teacher encouraged him to express himself through art.
“I just look for powerful feelings and emotions that give me a certain connection,” said Dan. “My art speaks what I would be saying with words.”
At around 9-years-old a documentary film crew began documenting area children of differing economic backgrounds and began following Dan’s journey. The documentary, King Gimp, received an Academy Award and his artwork sales soared and his calendar filled with speaking engagements.
“People are more willing to take time to understand me,” said Dan. “I do not know if they now realize that I do have something to say, or if what I do say just blows them away.”
An artist was born
When Dan Keplinger was born January 19, 1973 in Baltimore, Maryland, the doctor thought he was stillborn and placed him aside. Momentarily deprived of oxygen, he revived with a brain injury and mixed spastic and athetoid cerebral palsy.
At 18 months, Dan was enrolled in a special education school run by United Cerebral Palsy of Central Maryland and then enrolled into a level five special education school at the age of 6. At 16-years-old and a high school sophomore, he was mainstreamed into the public school system.
He graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Mass Communication in 1998 and a Bachelors of Science in Art in 2000 at Towson University.
The artist
Dan creates charcoal drawings and canvas paints. He attributes his interest in art to a high school teacher that gave him “the tools to have art say what I wanted it to.” He paints from an extensive collection of photographs that inspire an internal connection, “I look for the abnormal in normal life.”
Not always happy in nature, his abstracts often depict feelings he admits “would make people close to me scared and worried about me.”
“Maybe I want people to see these feelings, so they know everything is not happy in my world,” he said. “Translating myself onto canvas became my language, something I needed to exist.”
He paints with a head stick, a brush connected to a dowel and headband, onto canvas spanning at least 4 by 5 feet. His friends cut and position the canvas and mix and place his paints. To paint he sits in a “W” position on the floor of his apartment which is covered with six-inch thick foam to protect his knees.
He uses 15 brushes that can be easily interchanged by his friends and utilizes four jars of paint thinner in each corner of his canvas. His paintings often contain a wheelchair because “it is my main mode of conveyance and a major part of my daily life,” he said. “In my work I hope to show everybody that they have the ability to persevere.”
Dan’s art, which includes self-portraits, abstracts and landscapes, was first professionally shown in May of 2000. His art has also been featured at prestigious shows across the nation, including the Herbst International Exhibition Hall at the Presidio of San Francisco, CA; the Millennium Arts Center in Washington, D.C.; the Chicago Cultural Center in Chicago, IL; and the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, NY.
The documentaries
His life story, to date, is shared through film and distributed to schools and professional training programs. At age 9 he was included in Beginning with Bong a documentary produced by Susan Hannah Hadary and William A. Whiteford at the University of Maryland Video Press and Tapestry International Productions. The documentary was about children with disability from different economic backgrounds that were mainstreamed in various education systems.
Hadary and Whiteford continued filming Dan throughout his life. They filmed him moving from his special education school into a mainstreamed public school system. They filmed his prom, high school graduation and his first art show. They even recorded him transitioning from his mother’s house and into independent apartment living.
Eighty hours of raw footage and the assistance of an 80-page memoir written by Dan was then edited into a 39 minute documentary titled King Gimp.
“The film King Gimp documents Dan’s joys and frustrations including the freedom granted by his first power wheelchair, his rebellion against using a computer-generated voice, his everyday strides for independence, and his most life altering discovery–art,” reports the MedSchool Maryland Productions and Video Press website.
King Gimp reveals how Dan discovered his voice through art and suggests that intelligent individuals with speech impediments and physical impairment are often perceived incorrectly. The film premiered June 5, 2000 on HBO and is available through mainstream distribution. It was nominated for a national Emmy, received an Oscar, and the Peabody Award.
“It does feel good to be respected and appreciated for who I am,” Dan said. “I hope that people who have seen “King Gimp” have gained this new awareness not only for me but for others who have physical disabilities.”
The motivational speaker
Currently, Dan travels the
country, booking motivational speaking engagements on topics that
include “Accessible Arts” and “Overcoming Physical Challenges to Create
Success.” He is often sought by federal and state agencies, along with
corporations and disability organizations to promote inclusion in all
aspects of society.
In 2001, he was featured in a Cingular
Wireless Super Bowl commercial promoting self-expression. The commercial
received many honors including being ranked in USA Today as the number
one super bowl commercial; receiving the Goodwill Industries’ Walter
Knott Service Award for displaying outstanding humanitarian spirit; and
the TASH Image Award for exemplary achievement in media.
KING GIMP: The Story of Daniel Keplinger
‘King Gimp’ chronicles man’s teen and adult challenges, triumphs
Academy Award-winning documentary follows the daily life of Dan Keplinger from the ages of 12 to 25 years old, with a special nod to his search for acceptance and success as a sought-after artist. Keplinger, at the beginning of “King Gimp” is a self-conscious teen with severe cerebral palsy living with his single mother, Linda Ritter, in suburban Baltimore, Md. But at the end of the film, he’s a college-educated artist; working his magic on the canvas, and pondering the meaning of love.
To purchase King Gimp contact the National Films for Humanities and Sciences at 1-800-257-5126 or visit MedSchool Maryland Productions and Video Press, University of Maryland School of Medicine.
A tale of love and devotion Artist Dan Keplinger said in the Academy Award-winning film about his life that he expected to have a life of loneliness because he believed his cerebral palsy would prohibit someone from loving him. But Dan would ultimately find that life is full of surprises after meeting his soul mate and wife, Dena.
