With his family beside him and his life in front of him, Gary McLaughlin has reintroduced himself to the fine arts.

Gary, who was born in Ames but has lived in Minnesota for the past 30 years, had a disabling heart attack 10 years ago, which left him partially disabled.

Recently, Gary decided to begin painting again, and his work is currently on exhibit at Gallery in the Round at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames, 1015 N. Hyland Rd.

Although he still needs assistance with some day-to-day activities, he has been creating works of art with different media for the past three years.

Gary says his wife Marsha has had a tremendous involvement in the process of getting some of his pieces together and has also helped with his re-introduction into fine arts.

“Most people say ‘meet my better half.’ This is my better three-fourths,” Gary says. “If there is any credit to go around, it should go to her.”

Marsha says although her husband still needs some occasional help, his accomplishments in the past few years have been impressive.

“He gives me way too much credit,” Marsha says. “I am very proud of the work he is doing.”

Marsha isn’t his only source of inspiration — M.J. Kitzman, his former high school teacher and later college professor at the University of Iowa, introduced him to the art world.

“Through the years, Kitzman has been a dear friend and mentor of mine,” Gary says. “About three years ago, I contacted him to tell him that I had started painting again, and I wanted to show him the things I had done.”

Gary says Kitzman was instrumental in helping him secure an exhibit at the Gallery in the Round.

Although he has several pieces on display, Gary says he has trouble picking a favorite.

“I have four or five favorites,” Gary says. “I guess what I am really getting into is the media of it.”

Although he works with different forms of media, Gary has recently been bonding different materials to masonite and wood.

“I started off primarily with denim, old blue jeans,” Gary says. “Blue jean is a nice sturdy material.”

Gary says he uses Elmer’s glue to bond them to the surface. By applying different acrylic paints, he is able to create unique colors in each piece.

Gary says he has now been using other materials like string, cardboard or anything durable enough to withstand the test of time.

Although he likes to use other shapes, Gary has become very fond of one in particular.

“I have fallen in love with the square, as a shape for exploration,” he says. “I keep thinking I am going to wear it out, but it keeps presenting challenges from a composition standpoint.”

Gary says returning to art has been improving his outlook on life for the last several years.

“In the past, I had periods where I just couldn’t come up with anything, trouble thinking of ideas and staring at a blank canvas. Now that is not a problem. When I work on a piece, my mind is two or three pieces ahead,” Gary says. “My ideas are way ahead of my ability to express them.”