Derek Carter - Acrylic Oil Watercolor 

⚡️I am not a victim. I am a miracle⚡️

​Artist Statement 
While mainly working in acrylics and watercolor, Carter’s mediums change like Ohio weather. But his meticulous nature and drive remain constant alongside him on his journey. His unique and often challenging path of struggle and victory is usually visible in his work. ​One month before his 21st birthday, Derek Carter was traumatically injured in a life-changing work injury that resulted in the amputation of both of his forearms. Derek would come to fight harder than he ever had or would ever come to learn over the next half of his life. He was hit with 17,500 volts and was pronounced ‘dead on arrival by paramedics. After being pronounced dead for quite some time, his heart returned to life in a spontaneous rhythm. The path of starting over began. Three and a half months in a drug-induced coma, sixteen plus years in physical therapy, he has turned a shattered porcelain pot into a brand new vase. This dramatic change in his life forced him to relearn everything he ever had and would hold dear to him. All over again. Music, Art, and Life itself. Derek is known by his family, friends, and peers as a relentless individual who locks on to his goals and passions like a laser-guided missile. He has overcome obstacles most would have rendered impossible and unrealistic. Today, Carter is pursuing a degree in digital fabrication and looking to take the art world by storm. Born in Lorain, Ohio, he resides just outside Cleveland, where he spends his free time writing, creating, and enjoying the outdoors.