His intricate illustration style recalls tattoo art, Fritz the Cat and other ’70s-nostalgic comic blitzes. It’s finely detailed and full of humor and grotesque satire about people and situations we encounter every day.That should be enough for you to know, but we’re compelled to add that the 42-year-old Tarpon Springs artist and Volkswagen enthusiast is also a paraplegic. He learned to wield his pens and pencils with his mouth, manipulating them with his teeth, after a swimming accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. It was a tragedy that could have rendered Kuster helpless, but instead he showed everyone the depth and breadth of his talent and imagination, reminding us that there are very few instances in life where the word "can't" applies. To check out Kuster’s work, visit paintbyteeth.com.
This article appears in Sep 20-26, 2012.