A painter from Nottingham was devastated when he lost his sight in his thirties, but with some help from technology he’s been able to take up his passion for painting.
Stephen Brazier from The Park, Nottingham, picked up a paint brush at the age of 61 despite going almost completely blind when he was 36.
The artist went blind from a condition called macular degeneration, which leads to the gradual loss of central vision in the eye but he can still see some outlines up close in his left eye.
Stephen hasn’t let his visual impairment stop him from painting. He’s even got art work featured in a local gallery and has a one man exhibition coming up later in the year.
However, he says he couldn’t continue to paint without the help of technology.
Video: Stephen Brazier describes how he uses his Ipad to help him paint.
Mr Brazier turned his old home office into a painting studio and his art work makes it hard to believe that he failed his art A level course back in college.
As a former town planner for Nottingham City Council, Stephen started painting a few years ago. Although he’s almost completely blind he can still make out silhouettes of people and places and can see the smallest of things close up.
Macular degeneration is usually an age related problem but Stephen was one of the unlucky few to experience it early on in life.
The worst loss actually was bird watching, I was a really keen bird watcher.
Stephen Brazier.
Stephen enjoys working with water colours and has a large collection of portraits he’s painted over the years. He said: “I like portraits because you have a bit of a flying start with faces because you know where everything is.”
His dedication has paid off as three of his paintings have been chosen to appear in the University of Nottingham’s prestigious summer exhibition.
Stephen has already managed to sell one of his pieces at the exhibition and is preparing for his first ever one man art show this September.
