One man’s vision as printed in the Saint Lucie News Tribune
Story by By Steve Santiago Photo by Grayson Hoffman
On a sparkling, cloudless Saturday morning, people lined up at Tony “Dee” Digregorio’s booth at the open-air market along the waterfront in Fort Pierce.
For a small fee, Digregorio sketches caricatures he hopes will humor and delight his customers.
Digregorio is, by all appearances, no different from any other caricature artist.
Except that he’s nearly blind.
“I can only see one quarter of a person’s normal vision yet I’m somehow able to do this artwork,” Digregorio said. “What I see is similar to what someone might see through a keyhole.”
The 73-year-old was born with a congenital deficiency in his right eye that rendered it unusable. Then, in 2004, vision in Digregorio’s left eye deteriorated to the point that the Port St. Lucie resident had to stop driving.
Still, Digregorio’s caricatures exhibit a remarkable level of detail. Donna and Bernie Bires, co-managers of the Fort Pierce Jazz Society’s Arts & Crafts Market, say Digregorio is welcome at the market for as long as he wants.
“He’s fantastic. He just attracts a crowd around him once he gets started and he’s the last one to leave,” Bernie Bires said.
Born in Montreal, Digregorio came to the U.S. as a 14-year-old when his family relocated to Newark, N.J. He attended art school, then worked in the advertising and graphic art industries in New York and New Jersey.
Digregorio started doing caricatures in 1967 as a way to earn extra cash.
“My boss said a lady wanted me to do caricatures at her party,” Digregorio said. “At the time, I didn’t know what to charge, being I was young, but I gave it a try.”
The private party led to more and more referrals, and by 1980 Digregorio decided to quit his job and make a go of it doing caricatures full time. He said he has sketched caricatures of Sonny Bono, Ed McMahon, Frank Sinatra and Sylvester Stallone, to name a few.
But now, Digregorio is content working craft fairs and corporate events. He also has worked on the occasional mural, including an 8-by-22-foot depiction of the ocean he painted for his wife, Barbara.
At his booth, Digregorio put the finishing touches on a caricature of 8-year-old Justin McKenna of Portland, Maine, who was in town visiting relatives with his mother, Tricia.
“He’s doing a great job so far,” Tricia McKenna said of Digregorio’s depiction of Justin as a quarterback.
