LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KTSM) — George Mendoza, a well-known visually impaired artist from Las Cruces, has spent much of his life turning visions of chaotic colors into abstract paintings.  Optic Nerve Courtesy: George Mendoza “I don't see darkness at all. I see colors. If I cut my hands (right now), I see a pool of reds, yellows, eyes, suns, pinwheels. And at first, it drove me crazy. I went insane with it,” Mendoza said.  Mendoza said he lost his vision at the age of 15. At the time, he said he couldn’t help but feel that his life was over, falling into depression and even having suicidal thoughts. But he said art saved him. “As mom would say, I couldn't fly an airplane or drive a truck. So I had to go into art to save me,” Mendoza said. "All this is serendipity. It's good fortune, good luck. All by accident. I didn't wake up as a kid and wanted to become a bestselling fabric designer, world-renowned artist. That all just kind of happened by accident.” Mendoza said his mother encouraged him to finish his education at a school for the visually impaired in Alamogordo, where he first learned to hone his craft as a painter.  Fast-forward 30 years, and today Mendoza has made his mark through his colorful abstract paintings. Mendoza said his art features concepts like fire, eyes, and faces in the middle of the sky.  “I try not to connect anything to the Earth,” Mendoza said. “Why not put the (mountains) in the sky? With a reflection (at the bottom) and an eye and the sun (at the top),” Mendoza said.  Today, Mendoza’s paintings are converted into quilts and fabrics sold around the world; on a children’s book named "Colors of the Wind," which chronicles his life; and at galleries, art shows, and museums at major cities like Dallas and New York.  Courtesy: George Mendoza Mendoza has also authored multiple books, one of them titled "Journey of the Spirit Man," which he said has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in fiction.  Mendoza also said there is a working script written by professional film makers that is intended to be developed into a feature-length film about his life, which would also be titled "Colors of the Wind." As to where the "Colors of the Wind" title originated, Mendoza said it has been the driving concept to all of his work, trying to answer a question posed by a friend.  “Debbie, a friend who was born blind, had never seen the color green or a tree asked me, ’What color is the wind?,’ and I’ve been answering that question all my life in art, books, quilts,” Mendoza said.  To check out Mendoza’s work and to learn more about his career, you can visit his webpage by clicking here.