Blind Artist John Bramblitt Creates Beautiful Paintings Using His Sense Of Touch

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Like many active artists, John Bramblitt has plenty of beautiful creations. Unlike them, he hasn’t actually seen a single one of his works in over a decade, having completely lost his sight for the last 13 years.

Rather than rely on sight to guide him in his paintings, the artist uses a highly-attuned sense of touch. He can distinguish the color of each paint by feeling their textures with his fingers; he uses haptic visualization to create a mental picture of his subjects; and he starts paintings by drawing raised lines using fabric paint that help him find his way around the canvas.

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According to Bramblitt, the blindness has even proved as somewhat of an advantage for his art. While most sighted artists work by spending a lot of time looking at a subject, he has developed his sense of touch so well that he can feel a person’s face for five minutes and immediately have a full image in his mind. Losing his sight has also changed his entire way of perceiving the quality of his work – no longer do his portraits rely on a precise likeness to a subject, for instance, with the intangible elements being as much a part of every single work he makes.

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You can buy John Bramblitt’s paintings and prints directly from his website.

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