97-Year-Old Legally Blind WW2 Veteran Creates Incredible Pixel Art With MS Paint

It’s never too late to learn. 97-year-old World War II veteran Hal Lasko, who is now legally blind, proves this by creating a series of stunningly detailed pixel paintings on his ’95 Microsoft Paint. Hal, also known as Grandpa, only discovered computer art only in his 80's, and hasn't let go of it since!

Back in the day, Hal used to work as a typographer, creating various letter fonts from scratch, so drawing was deep in his veins. “We got Grandpa a computer about 15 years ago. I knew I had to show him Microsoft Paint, and once I did, he just took off with it. And it wasn't till years later that we realized how important it was to him,” says Ryan Lasko, Hal’s grandson.

Hal is suffering from wet macular degeneration, which causes weaker sight in the center of it’s field. However, when working with a computer, Grandpa can zoom in and build a whole painting from small details. His paintings are described as “a collision of pointillism and 8-Bit art”. Check out this amazing art and a touching documentary short by Josh Bogdan about Hal’s life journey.