'Blind art' exhibition launched

Rita Simpson's Edinburgh painting is one of those in the exhibition

An exhibition of paintings by artists who have lost their sight is to be opened to the public.

The artists are all members of classes held by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) at its Scottish headquarters in Edinburgh.

The artists, who have varying degrees of sight loss, are forced to use their memories when creating their paintings.

The exhibition will be held in the cafe area of RNIB Scotland in Hillside Crescent until 27 November.

Fiona Powell, one of the artists whose work is on display, has been painting for four years.

I used to be able to look at what I wanted to paint but now I can't, so the difficulty is trying to see things in my head and paint from my memory and my imagination Fiona Powell Artist

She has retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive condition that affects the light-sensitive cells on the retina at the back of the eye. Sufferers can only see through a small patch in the centre of their field of vision.

Ms Powell said: "It is difficult to get the right colour and to get the stroke down in the right place.

"In the past, I used to be able to look at what I wanted to paint but now I can't, so the difficulty is trying to see things in my head and paint from my memory and my imagination, something I didn't need to do before my sight loss.

"My only limitations is it has to be something I can deal with, something I can make look good and convey and that will make sense to others."

'Individual personalities'

Graham Young, a tutor at the art group, said the artists were "remarkably inventive" at solving problems and usually required only the obvious help with locating their painting materials.

Sometimes masking tape and even Plasticine are employed to direct paint strokes, he added.

Mr Young said: "For the main part they need just the usual encouragement that a tutor gives to student to express themselves.

"The variety of work reflects the individual personalities rather than anything to do with sight loss."