Local artist defying the odds and serving as an inspiration

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Kendrell Daniels is a man of few words, but what he puts down on canvas speaks volumes.

Every brush stroke is free-flowing, every detail is fluid, and every painting is flawless.

When Daniels paints a picture, he paints with a purpose.

“I get to express myself because I don’t really talk much,” said Daniels, a sophomore at East Mississippi Community College. “I don’t really get out and do stuff so.”

His canvas allows him to be himself.

“Some stuff doesn’t have to be perfect, you just put what you feel,” he said.

All artists have their own perspective.

However, Daniels has his own technique, using his feet instead of his hands.

“I don’t really look at it like I have a disability, I just do it,” said Daniels .

Daniels developed his passion for painting at Mississippi State’s T.K Martin Center, but he admits it wasn’t love at first sight.

“When I first came it looked hard and I kind of didn’t like it, but when I started coming back here I loved it,” recalled Daniels.

The 19-year-old said he enjoys painting motivational quotes, animals, and anything sports related.

The Kemper County native gained national recognition after he painted a picture for former MSU and current Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

In fact, Daniels’ work inspired a pair of cleats Prescott wore this past season.

“On one side of his shoe I did “Adversity and Strength,” the artist described. “I did the breast cancer sign because his mom died of colon cancer, and the other shoe was all of the names of other painters that paint here.”

The quiet and soft-spoken Daniels has now blossomed into an inspirational figure.

He said he will continue to use his artwork, his story, and his perseverance as motivation for people all across the world.

“A lot of people walk up to me and tell me they know me, and they ask for my paintings on my social media and stuff like that,” said Daniels. “People tell me I inspire them, some people do need motivation. It’s motivation for me for people to say I inspire them so it kind of goes both ways.”

Prescott and Daniels have since developed a close friendship through his artwork.

He has even been Prescott’s guest for a few football games.

Once Daniels graduates from EMCC, he wants to attend MSU and major in graphic design.