The Pixel Painter Video

Pixel by Pixel. That’s how Hal Lasko made his masterpieces. Each one, tediously and lovingly crafted on a decades old software program, some taking hundreds of hours to complete.

It’s hard to believe his pieces, that many say resemble classic 8-bit video games, were created on Microsoft Paint. But the program would end up being a saving grace for a lifelong artist who refused to let a major disability stop him from creating and eventually sharing his love of art with the world.

"Grandpa Hal", as he was better known, did all of his work despite challenges that could’ve ended his passion for painting. In his later years, he suffered from wet macular degeneration, an age-related, chronic eye disease which severely limited the center of his field of vision. It was a formidable handicap for anyone, but especially someone who'd made a living off his artist's eye.

Long before age began to take its toll on Lasko, he'd enjoyed a successful career as an artist of a different sort than what he became. He started out as a graphic designer, working in the military during World War II drafting maps and eventually retired from American Greetings in the 1970s.

Throughout it all he would paint at home to satisfy his artistic urges, but the older Lasko got, the harder it became for him to paint.

That all changed for Hal when his family gave him a computer as an 85th birthday present. His new PC came loaded with Microsoft Paint software, a program developed in the 1980’s. In today's “Age of the iPad”, the program is more kitsch than cutting edge, but its easy interface and pixel precision allowed Lasko to journey down a new artistic path with a style many consider “retro cool”.

With help from his grandson Ryan and his friend Josh, Lasko has shared his work and story with the world with the making of “The Pixel Painter”. With over 3 million online views, the documentary became a viral sensation, touching the hearts and “spray paint cans” of art lovers everywhere. In his last year of life, Hal sold his first piece of artwork, had international gallery showings and was featured in MIcrosoft’s 2013 Super Bowl commercial. He passed away just shy of his 99th birthday in 2014, leaving us with a legacy that passion knows no age, and for Hal, the proof of that is surely in the pixels.

Website: https://hallasko.com/

Video Script:: 

you know I do a lot of my painting with my eyes shut I've jumped up on a bit and went to the computer to see if I could do what I dreamed I could do [Music] people now generally call me grandpa why is that because I'm old and that's what I am grandpa's what they call a lettering man which means he was a typographer typographers job is to create letter forms by scratch so you're literally hand drawing a through Z and creating these spec sheets that eventually get used in layouts in advertising and greeting cards and posters and etc we got grandpa computer probably 15 years ago I knew I had to show him Microsoft Paint and once I did he just he took off with it and it was until years later that we realized how important this this thing was was to him when I lost my eyesight I thought my painting days were over the reason I'm using the computer is different because I'm using it because it gives me the benefit of magnifying enough so that my eyesight is good enough that I can still do it it was one of my first drawings on on the computer so I figure out what I want to do first when it's normal size and then I just bring up that part and I work on the detail that only see if it takes me two years to do that I can spend it I got a lot of patience that's what you really need anyway so print and I'm just starting it's a space high-wage it started out with just one thing we had no idea how to get it out of the computer and then once we figured out what exactly one and he would bring more and more and more things and it was a growing relationship that really turned out well you can see the actual pixels the squares in the in the paintings most people want those gone how wants those kept how won't go away so keeps coming back for more [Music] [Applause] [Music] the big nine seven you mean I gotta move [Applause] he won't talk to you about art for longer than you want it listen to him sometimes he talks about it in his sleep I don't like to go to his studio downstairs because because I I can't get out he just keep he just wants to keep me there wants to keep showing me things which is fine i I just I got two things going and I'm starting a third one no and I like this one a lot tell me about it it's called space highways it's a big and I this is a small statement about a big subject you know it's no longer work it's fun when I when I worked I always have to tend to do something to please the client so now you can have your own creative no I can do whatever I want you know do you think about your paintings a lot that's all I do [Laughter] [Music] got interested in the trees when I used to caddy all year long they change color and everything and then I had a third grade teacher that she taught me a pole this is poetry you remember it from way back then oh yes I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree a tree that looks at God all day and lifts its leafy arms to pray a tree that made in summer wear a nest of Robins in her air poles are made by fools like me I always say paintings were made by fools like me and only God can make a tree [Music] I'm interested in public reaction to anything that I've done negative or positive see in me and painting in my room nobody ever sees what I really do [Music] I think he's getting stronger not weaker actually since my mom died a couple years ago he doesn't really talk much about her I mean I think he is is able to just go on I mean I think he said I have never heard him complain about his age or [Music] [Music] talk about dying off [Music] he doesn't have that you know you [Music]