When it comes to painting, I’ll stick with the walls in my living room. With my lack of natural ability, I can screw up a paint-by-number kit.
Artist John Bramblitt is a different story. Due to an illness, Bramblitt gradually lost his sight and has been completely blind since 2001. Oddly enough before going blind he was always interested and involved in art, but didn’t create as a painter. I guess painting while blind isn’t nearly as dangerous as hiking the Appalachian Trail while blind, but it’s still very impressive.
Since losing his vision, the Denton, Texas resident has been painting incredible portraits like the one of skateboarder Tony Hawk above.
According to John, “Everyone has an artist somewhere in them; sometimes they just need a little help letting it out.”
His work is colorful and striking, whether it’s a painting of a dog, a nude or a familiar face. To create his portraits, Bramblitt uses a hands-on method, touching the model’s face to learn its contours.
Watching the videos of him working, I couldn’t help but think of Lionel Richie. Why you ask? Because of that terrible video for “Hello” where the blind student molds a horrible bust of her professor Lionel.
Richie statue via Stereogum
