Leandro Velasco (Colombian, 1933 - )

Leandro Velasco, who uses oil paint to bring robust, almost outlandish characters to life on canvas, left his native Colombia to escape escalating political violence. He landed in New York the day President Kennedy was assassinated.

While living in a communal Manhattan apartment, Velasco designed stained glass and painted on the side. He insinuated himself into the New York art scene, and by the late '70s, his painting career had taken off.

But the continuous partying began to take its toll.

"I said that's it," Velasco said, and 11 years ago, he bought a run-down farmhouse in Bainbridge and left the city behind.

"Up here, you don't have the distractions from work," he said.

Leando Velasco was born in Cali, Colombia in 1933.