John Bramblitt Learned to Paint After the World Went Dark

The story

John Bramblitt, a Texas artist, lost his vision in his twenties. The fear was not only darkness. It was the idea that making things was over.

He taught himself to raise lines on the canvas and to tell colors by texture. The method is slow. Slow is allowed.

What happened next

His paintings are vivid. He teaches. Students watch a man solve a problem they assumed had no solution. Appreciation fits better than awe.

A lesson you can use this week

If a sense or skill has changed, invent a workaround before you invent a eulogy. Ask someone to help you prototype the workaround this week.

Sources

Profiles of John Bramblitt in the Dallas Morning News and PBS; his teaching notes on painting by touch.