Registered blind artist Barrie Goodfellow and his wife Janet took three weeks to prepare his latest work to go on show at St Margaret’s Church’s annual flower festival in Topsham (July 18-20, 2013).
Barrie, who lives in Exeter and who has now sold more than 300 paintings, is an honorary member of county-wide charity Devon in Sight, based at Topsham’s Station House.
And it was on behalf of the charity that he produced the painting, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight”, which is made using a tactile style, incorporating flowers, which can be enjoyed by touch as well as by sight.
Barrie, who has one per cent precise vision, was born with glaucoma and also has retinitis pigmentosa. He said: “I have a good technique to get a good colourful display, I say ‘Keep it bright, because I have no sight!’
“I was asked by Devon in Sight vice-chairman Elizabeth Hubbick if I had any ideas for the flower festival and I suggested a tactile garden, and that idea was welcomed by the charity.
“But I will not take all the praise for this piece because my wife Janet is the gardener in our house and she helped me immensely throughout the production! Including drying time, this piece took three weeks to complete.
“It’s always a pleasure to help Devon in Sight as they are very supportive of people with visual impairment throughout the county.”
Barrie also works with the charity Sense and runs art workshops every Wednesday morning for them. “I’m very pleased with the way service users of Sense have developed in the last 10 months,” he said.
He returned last year from a trip to Melbourne promoting art by people with visual impairment after being invited over by the not-for-profit organisation Vision Australia, which came across Barrie’s work via his website, www.lowvisionart.org.
Grahame Flynn, Devon in Sight’s Operations Manager, said: “We’re delighted that Barrie has been able to help us once again with his art. He has been very supportive of our work with people with visual impairment for a number of years, and we are very grateful for his help.”