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Voices that Inspire

Hear stories from some of our most inspirational voices — you!

Pictured: James Cocke

Listen: Week of November 17, 2022

Transcript
What inspires you from WFSU Public Media? Here's this week's Voices That Inspire. My name is James Cock, and I'm a wannabe artist. I took up painting and I've gone crazy like a painting fool because I have the in-stage glaucoma and I see patterns. So I had my wife on Father's Day, get me some paint and some canvases and whatnot. And I painted what I see. I realized, heck, is that taking me long to do that? I want to keep painting. I use acrylic and I didn't know anything about how to do backgrounds and all that, but I picked it up and learning. Now I'm 70 when I picked up painting, it was like a breath of fresh air. There's a group. It's called the Visually in Paird Foundation of Georgia. They have been so much help to me. And I entered the Georgia artist with disabilities contest. My picture I depicted was called Cowboys, and it won a Stinglest Amerit Award. It was a movie and I paused it, took a picture of it, and when I look at my phone, all I see is the hatch walking through the woods. It's like they're floating on a sheet or something. And that's how that painting came about. I want a little cash prize and low in my hole, somebody bought it. So I've been blessed in every way. Since the Lord don't guarantee you another day, you know, I want to just paint and paint until I drop. My name is James Cot and I'm an artist. I'm a new artist, but I'm an artist. You're listening to Voices That Inspire.
James Cocke - I just want to paint and paint until I drop.

James Cocke is an artist with end-stage glaucoma. Although his medical condition severely limits his vision, he’s recently found solace in painting. He recently won the Georgia Artists with DisAbilities, Inc. 2022 Distinguished Merit Award for his painting entitled “Cowboys.”


Tell your inspirational story. Contact Kim Kelling at 850-645-6056 or kkelling@fsu.edu.