The New York Times Paints a Portrait of Blind Denton Artist John Bramblitt

There has been no shortage of stories about John Bramblitt in recent years, as evidenced by the “news” page on the Denton artist’s Web site. Four years ago, Mika Ferris even made a documentary titled, simply, Bramblitt. After all, his is an extraordinary tale: The 37-year-old El Paso native and University of North Texas graduate experienced vision loss throughout much of his life (due, he believes, to brain seizures that began when he was 2) and went completely blind in 2001. And not only did he continue to paint, but in 2004 he started showing his work in galleries throughout the state.

Which is why this morning’s New York Times features a lengthy piece on Bramblitt (accompanied by a photo by frequent Dallas Observer contributor Brandon Thibodeaux) in which the painter says, “It wasn’t until I lost my sight that I became brave enough to fail. Even if the paintings didn’t look good, I didn’t have to see them.” Bramblitt expounds upon his process in the introduction to his latest series of works, “Synesthesia: Art of the Senses.”