Minnesota Artist Ron Hunt

It wasn't until age 26 that Ron Hunt tried his hand at painting, and it wasn't for fun. He was working for a loan company that was opening a new branch office. The supervisor gave him $40 and told him to buy art to fill a huge, blank wall in the new building. It quickly became clear to Hunt that the money wasn't going to go far.

So, he improvised. He gathered some of his favourite photos he took while serving in the Army in Hawaii, Japan and Germany and displayed them on canvas with a projector. He sketched the images as best he could and began painting. It was then he learned a basic fact about colours — blue and yellow mixed together makes green. He finished the paintings and hung them on the loan office walls.

"I wrote myself a check for $40," Hunt recalled.

That first foray into art led to a 57-year passion for painting and drawing. But the moustachioed artist, known for his trademark black beret, has had to put away the brushes and paint. Five years ago, Hunt was diagnosed with macular degeneration — an incurable eye disease that causes vision loss. 

He can no longer see well enough to do the landscapes he so loves to put on canvas. He has also been diagnosed with prostate cancer and lymphoma, a cancer that affects the lymphatic system, which is part of the body's immune system. In addition, he is in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

His partner of 34 years, Billie Hunt, decided to open a temporary art gallery in downtown Lake City to feature the painter's work.