Artist Uses 2 Styles Of Art To Create 1 Image

DENVER (CBS4) - At the Georgia Amar Gallery on Santa Fe, artist Jim Stevens is presenting his latest work.

"Well every layer, every layer I paint with a different shading," Stevens said of his work.

There is his earlier work with monofilament, fishing line, which captures shadows in haunting relief. But then there is his latest work which he calls "abstract linear." The negative space of a piece of artwork and the positive image are separated on two boards giving the viewer a new perspective of the art.

"They're actually two paintings on two different panels. And the abstract linears are created by a realistic painting on a clear panel, and then to work with that I create an abstract on a comtex panel. When the two are combined, the abstract panel in the back actually creates all the shading you see in the realistic portrait," Stevens said.

It's an amazing visual effect, all the more so given how Jim must work.

"I was shot in the head in Vietnam, and they left the bullet fragments in my head. And 23 years after I was shot, I was teaching at the University of Colorado, and a bullet fragment moved, caused a stroke in my visual cortex. I lost my eyesight in 30 minutes," Stevens told CBS4.

LINK: 'Captured Shadows' at Georgia Amar Gallery

All he can see is pin dots straight ahead. This artist's vision does not come simply from the eyes.

The exhibit -- "Captured Shadows" -- can be seen at the Georgia Amar Gallery, located in the Santa Fe Arts District, through the end of the year.