As a child, Horace Pippen loved to draw. Even though his family was poor and art supplies were scarce, he would used whatever he could find to make pictures. He even entered a drawing contest with the local newspaper and won his first real art supplies.

As a young man, he went off to fight in World War I, where he took a bullet in his right shoulder. Although his injury made drawing and painting difficult, he said "The war brought out all the art in me". He worked out a way to paint using his left hand to guide his right, and started painting: scenes from the war, from his childhood, from what he saw everyday in the world around him.

He eventually drew the attention of local artist N. C. Wyeth, and started to gain acclaim as an artist. His work now hangs in famous museums across the country. A Splash of Red beautifully details his inspiring story of creativity and perseverance.