Blind artist painting 4-story mural in Dallas

DALLAS - There’s a four-story mural being created in the Bishop Arts District in Dallas. The man working on it had to relearn how to be a visual artist after losing his sight.

John Bramblitt lost his eyesight almost 20 years ago when he was a student at the University of North Texas.

“I relearned how to paint. I relearned how to do everything. And when you lose your eyesight, you have to learn a new way to do everything,” he said.

Bramblitt’s wife, Jacqui Serie, gives him pointers, telling him where he needs to put the boom. From there, the blind artist said he feels the wall to make sure he is where he thinks he is.

“I’m always telling the kids you can do anything. Always go outside your limits. So, I started to think what’s the craziest thing you can do? What’s outside of your limits? And I thought well a mural because I have to touch to try to paint. It’s really hard to touch an entire building so that sounds crazy,” he said.

Bramblitt discovered a special black paint that he uses because it feels very slick and different from the brick. It also feels different than other colors. He can feel for the black lines to determine where to put his brush.

The mural that he’s working on depicts a woman who is sitting on a porch playing a guitar. It’s bright and colorful. Bramblitt thinks it represents the area.

“We’re in the Bishop Arts District. It’s a very fun, kind of laid back place. It’s full of art and music. And whenever I hear music I see colors. So I have to have bright colors,” he said.

Bramblitt painted the design on canvas first and broke it down into stages. But now that it’s on a wall he often loses his place.

“The wonderful thing about art is it’s all about what you can do. What you can’t do doesn’t even enter the equation. So you just figure out a way to do it and if that doesn’t work try to find another way,” he said.