Blind Canadian says vision not needed to create art

From Maple Ridge News: in Canada:

Robert Hebert (pictured) runs his hands over the thick paper, feeling for a raised ridge that plots a mountain range.

He tears the peaks and precipices, gently moving his fingertips over the rocky crags, gnarled pines and boulders.

Blind for the past 15 years, Hebert quite likes the rocky overhang he’s summoned from paper with his fingers.

“I can sort of picture the mountains in my mind. They are weather-beaten, rained on and formed by ice,” says the novice painter, who picked up a brush for the first time last year.

Born with only partial sight, Hebert still remembers seeing the Golden Ears for the first time when he moved to Maple Ridge with his wife Heather 20 years ago.

Their looming presence and snow-capped peaks are an inspiration for his textured paintings, created by layering thick paper over MDF board.

“I have always loved mountains and the fact that they are so contoured really lends themselves to paintings by a blind person,” says Hebert. “Painting is a possibility if you are able to see with your mind’s eye and transfer those visions to paper.”

Using rollers, sponges, brushes and etching tools, Hebert brings the mountains, the snow drifts and deep gullies to life, with a little help from artist Jack Prasad, who runs the New Creations Art Gallery and Studio in Maple Ridge. Hebert’s work will be featured in a show that opens at the gallery Saturday.

An art lover who frequents galleries and museums, Hebert met Prasad while taking in an exhibition at New Creations.

Watching Hebert savour the paintings with his fingers while his wife explained the canvas, Prasad immediately knew the former social worker was the perfect candidate to try techniques he had developed for visually impaired artists.

“Robert really opens the eyes of other people,” says Prasad. “[People with sight] who say they can’t draw a straight line, have no excuse.”

Hebert admits he decided to try painting only to encourage members of the local White Cane Club to give art a shot.

“I am the only totally blind person in the club, so I thought if I gave it a try it would inspire others,” he says.

“I didn’t think it was doable at first.”

Now that he’s dabbled in painting and is going to start working on a large 24-inch by 48-inch canvas, Hebert can’t wait to sculpt. Creating a 3-D image with his hands is something he’s always wanted to try.

“The more texture it has, the more I would enjoy it,” he says, while envisioning an abstract sculpture in clay with concave and convex dips and divots.

He does wonder what his work looks like to people with sight and sometimes muses if he’d be able to enjoy art more if he could see it.

“I don’t think so,” says Hebert after a moment of reflection.

“Because I am able to picture it in my mind, I think I’m able to enjoy them even more.”