Brush with Darkness: Learning to Paint After Losing My Sight

by Lisa Fittipaldi

When Lisa Fittipaldi went blind at the age of forty-seven, she descended into a freefall of anger and denial that lasted for two years. In this moving memoir, she paints a vivid picture of the perceptual and emotional darkness that accompanied her vision loss, and her arduous journey back into the sighted world through mastery of the principles of art and color. The challenge of a child's watercolor set, thrown down like a gauntlet by her frustrated husband, opened the door to a new life. Discovering that her ability to master the small world of the canvas enabled her to navigate the wide world she'd lost, she painstakingly taught herself to draw and paint, substituting rigorous study of the principles of art and color theory for her lost vision. Lisa doesn't see color, distance, dimension, or print. Yet she depicts groups of people caught in the activities of daily living in astonishing detail and spectacular color. She has sold over 500 original paintings internationally. Scientists and researchers seek out her insight into vision and perception. "I truly feel that unless blindness had toppled the carefully maintained edifice I called my life, there is no way that I would be the kinder, more fulfilled person I am today," Lisa writes. "I found my life's passion in painting. Blindness took away my sight but gave me clarity of vision. It took blindness to teach me the meaning of love and friendship."

Genres: Nonfiction, Disability, Memoir

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2004

Reviews

[John]

A truly incredible story - not only had the author gone blind before doing her paintings, she explains how she'd lost the ability to recall visual models by the time most were done. Samples can be seen at her website (lisafittipaldi.com).

[Miguel Panão]

Limitations are signs

Signs that obstacles in our life are the boundary through which we flow into the sea of creativity. It is what I felt through the blind eyes of a talented and inspirational painter as Lisa.

[Karen]

Interesting insights from this book by a blind painter. I think my mind was blown when I first learned about this woman, so it intrigued me to read her memoir. A bit histrionic in her attempts at reconstructing the emotional process, but interesting nonetheless.

[Raymond]

Very interesting and well written commentary of her strategy for coping with her health issues and loss of sight! It must be very helpful to have a photographic memory?

[Dave]

Interesting that someone could be so accomplished while so visually impaired.

[Margaret Felkay]

Very inspirational.