Adam Conard had a bright future ahead of him, in Basketball. That was until a horrible back injury laid him out.

"When I was 16 I had a serious back injury, which prevented me from doing athletics."

So instead of spending his time on the court, Adam picked up a paintbrush that was willed to him by his uncle.

"When he passed away he gave me his set of paintbrushes and left me a little note telling me to keep pursuing art. That's when it all came about and that's when I did my first painting."
And for his first painting, he showed an amazing amount of talent. It was a large black and white painting of Stevie Ray Vaughan.

"I was told after my first painting that I was pretty good at it."

Pretty good was probably an understatement. Even after he healed, Adam continued to paint and is now a self-employed artist, plastering his work on walls all over Colorado Springs. Adam talks about what he likes most about what he can do with a set of paints and a brush.

"The freedom that comes with art, the freedom to express your thoughts and feelings, and the freedom to see the world as your canvas."

Those canvases include a wall at Old Chicago's on Tejon. Adam painted the mural there. Pikes Perk will soon have a mural painted by the young artist. And one of his bigger accomplishments was being invited to paint a legend, Marilyn Monroe for the Fine Arts Center.
He got the invitation after the curator of the show, Tariana Navas-Nieves saw some of his work.

"I think with Adam you still see some of the other work that he's been doing, but it also gives some highlights of some direction, and some experimenting he's been taking. I was quite pleased."

For Adam, the Marlyn Monroe painting was a new experience for him. This was his first portrait of a woman.

"The Marilyn Monroe piece, more than any other piece, feels alive to me.

At only 25-years-old, this young, accomplished artist is speaking volumes... with his paintbrush. He just hopes that people are hearing what he's saying.

"I hope that they get some sort of feeling or an emotion, emotional response as opposed to just looking at it and seeing something that looks nice."

The last day of the Marilyn Monroe exhibit at the Fine Arts Center is Sunday, July 6th.