Charles Blackwell teaching at LightHouse for the Blind

Profile on Blind Artist, Charles Blackwell

From: Robynn Takayama
Length: 03:03

Blind since a hiking accident in 1971, Charles Blackwell has not let his disability prevent him from becoming a vibrant visual artists. In this segment he talks about his paintings, the importance of art programs for the blind, and the role of artists in society. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Profile on Blind Artist, Charles Blackwell
From: Robynn Takayama

Charles-blackwell_small

Charles has been legally blind since 1971 when stumbled down the Santa Cruz bluffs.

For years, Charles says he gave up, he checked out. He eventually started to work. He was a janitor at a church. He stuffed envelopes. He also taught writing workshops in prisons and he says the work in the cultural arena is what helped him cope and let him know he's ok.

For the last four years, Charles has been a guest instructor in the art classes at Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

In this segment, Charles Blackwell talks about his paintings, the importance of LightHouse's art program, and the role of artists in society.

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Piece Description

Charles has been legally blind since 1971 when stumbled down the Santa Cruz bluffs.

For years, Charles says he gave up, he checked out. He eventually started to work. He was a janitor at a church. He stuffed envelopes. He also taught writing workshops in prisons and he says the work in the cultural arena is what helped him cope and let him know he's ok.

For the last four years, Charles has been a guest instructor in the art classes at Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

In this segment, Charles Blackwell talks about his paintings, the importance of LightHouse's art program, and the role of artists in society.

Transcript

My name is Charles Blackwell, and I do images of musicians and I go for the abstract, and it’s interesting. One person gave me feedback, says you create this emotion! It's like you're painting the inside of the person, as opposed to the outside. And it's good feedback, because I kind of operate more on improvisation or serendipity more than anything. You know, discovery by accident, just like they do in jazz music, improvisation.

What I do to adapt is taking my defect and using it as my asset. I use the ink spout, instead of, using an ink pen and paper. I use the ink spout, because I want large lines that I can see. I use three ink ballpoint pens at one time, because I can see that. I can tell what I'm doing. I use big fat brushes instead of the skinny brushes because if I use the skinny brushes, I’m lost, I don’t know what I’m doing. You know, I do paintings, using all these wild abstr...
Read the full transcript

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

Charles has been legally blind since 1971 when stumbled down the Santa Cruz bluffs.

Charles says for years he gave up and checked out. He eventually started to work. He was a janitor at a church. He stuffed envelopes. He also taught writing workshops in prisons and he says the work in the cultural arena is what helped him cope and let him know he's ok.

For the last four years, Charles has been a guest instructor in the art classes at Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Here's Charles Blackwell talking about his paintings, the importance of LightHouse's art program, and the role of artists in society.

OUTRO: