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Blind artist uses touch to paint a colorful world

Source: Agencies | March 31, 2015, Tuesday | Online Edition

Program Code: 0909346150305008 | Source: CNTV

JOHN Bramblitt is an artist who learned to see through his paintbrush when his world went dark. Before going blind at the age of 30, he had never even painted before. But now his works are talked about around the world, and his experience is inspiring millions.

Bramblitt is an artist whose work is defined by bold and expressive palettes, and speaks volumes. It is hard to imagine that the man behind the colorful paintings is a man who has been living in the dark for over 13 years.

At 30, he suffered complications from epilepsy that left him irreversibly blind.

"When I first lost my sight I was really angry; I was so angry that I wouldn't admit that I was angry. I was angry at everything. The world it seems like everything that was important in my life was taken away from me. I couldn't leave my apartment by my own. I couldn't read, I couldn't write anymore," he said.

Losing his vision was a turning point in Bramblitt's life. He calls it "the deepest, darkest hole." But he eventually climbed out of that hole, by picking up the paint brush.

"I had thought about painting before, it might be horrible to say, but I didn't think I'd be very good at it. When I lost my sight, I thought well I don't have to look at it anyway, so I thought I would give it a try."

"When I first started painting, I never thought of showing it to anybody ever, it's just something that I needed to do, to let it out. If I hadn't lost my sight, I wouldn't start painting. The whole thing of painting is really symbolic. To prove that I still have some sort of perceptions, that I could still see."

Over the course of painting, he realized that every shade of color has its own special textures.

He figured out how to mix colors by feeling the differences between textures in the oils. He also learned how to apply the paint by outlining an image and using his fingers to guide the brush stokes.

Through just his touch, he can see his subjects.

"It seems like it might be different, but the only difference is that instead of light, I use my fingertips. Even the different colors of paint feels different. White is very thick, like toothpaste. And black is runny kind of like oil. So if I want gray it's halfway in between, I can mix the white and the gray until the texture feels a little bit thick and a little bit runny."

He has never seen his own wife or his young son, but it is clear he knows exactly what they look like. His portraits are proof that his fingertips are every bit as perceptive as his eyes once were.

Bramblitt's art is gaining notice in galleries around the world. He can often be found in museums or at schools, teaching his technique and what he has learned about life and color to children.

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