In this article, we will list a few blind and visually impaired painters and we will talk about how they paint. First, let’s try to clarify the question how do blind and visually impaired people paint?
How do blind and visually impaired people paint?
At first, visual impairment and painting might seem like contradictory terms, but there are blind or visually impaired painters who can paint incredible pictures, even though they don’t have any sight. Every blind or visually impaired person doesn’t use the same method to paint. While some of them review the object they will paint with their fingers, the other person turns the fact that he has low vision into his own advantage and uses a magnifier, another one uses the Microsoft Paint program on his computer to paint pictures.
After shedding some light on how blind and visually impaired people paint pictures, let’s take a look at the lives of some blind or visually impaired people and how they paint pictures.
Eşref Armağan
Eşref Armağan was born in Turkey, Istanbul on 1953. He is visually impaired from birth, and he doesn’t have even light perception, so he can’t se anything. Despite this, Eşref Armağan had painting himself as a passion since childhood.
How does Eşref Armağan paint?
First, he creates an infrastructure of the picture that he wants to paint by using the relief drawing method and with his fingers, and then switches to painting. As he cannot see the colours, he gets help from a sighted person.
Eşref Armağan’s pictures have not only attracted attention in Turkey, but in the overseas as well. Eşref armağan took part in Turkish television channels, as well as in the international tv channels like CNN and BBC.
The painting ability of Eşref Armağan has also attracted the attention of the neurology professors in the American Harvard university.
Michael Williams
Michael Williams was born on 1964, in Tennessee, United States. The interest of Michael Williams, who had low vision, towards painting began to develop when he saw his mother painting cowboy pictures.
While he was young, Williams was diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease, which causes the eyesight to decrease gradually. Despite that, Williams continued to paint and won some awards at high school.
How does Michael Williams paint?
As he has restricted vision, Michael Williams paints using a powerful magnifier, by leaning into the canvas.
Sergej Popolsin
Sergej Popolsin born on 1964 in Russia, Sergej was grown up in Siberia and went to the art school there. Not being visually impaired from birth, Sergej couldn’t complete his schooling due to two years of mandatory military and because of some personal problems.
Serjey attempted suicide due to his turbulent life in 1990. He managed to survive after this tragic experience, but he became visually impaired. After being visually impaired, Sergej trained himself in painting.
Well, how does Sergej Popolsin paint?
While painting, Sergej Popolsin sticks pins onto the canvas in order to adjust what he paints.
In this article, we talked about successful and determined blind and visually impaired painters, who impressed everyone with their pictures. As the BlindLook team, we are always with blind and visually impaired people and we continue to work hard for the dream where the blind and visually impaired people can join every activity, including painting.
Author: Fatih Yüksek / BlindLook Team
