Ahipara mouth artist Kevin Griffiths\u2019 painting \u2018Echoes in the Field\u2019.<\/p>\n
The selection of the pictures for the Christmas range is made by a panel of European experts, and this year include paintings by seven New Zealand artists.<\/p>\n
Griffiths has been mouth-painting for more than 25 years.<\/p>\n
He broke his neck and lost the use of his hands in a swimming accident at age 13. <\/p>\n
Following his accident, he continued his education and became interested in various forms of art, which inspired him to travel extensively throughout the world.<\/p>\n
In 1991 he was awarded the Bruce Hopkins Memorial Award, a competition that started more than 20 years ago to commemorate Bruce Hopkins\u2019 contribution to the Mouth and Foot Painting Artists (MFPA) and artists with disabilities throughout New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Since then, he has received the coveted prize four times. He became an MFPA Student Member in 1992 and an Associate Member in 2001.<\/p>\n
The Mouth and Foot Painting Artists earn income through the sale of products illustrated with their paintings.<\/p>\n
Although this started with Christmas cards, today it includes a wide range of products, including special occasion cards, jigsaws, tea sets, address books, calendars, Christmas serviettes and placemats, gift tags and wrapping paper.<\/p>\n
Founded in 1956 by a group of European artists, the MFPA is a self-help organisation that gives people with disabilities the opportunity to fulfil their creative ambitions while still maintaining financial independence by selectively selling their artworks. <\/p>\n
To become a student member, an artist must qualify by painting using a brush held in either their mouth or foot, having lost the use of their hands through an illness or accident. <\/p>\n