Painting in the Dark: Esref Armagan, Blind Artist

Gr 2–5— Blind since birth, Esref Armagan is a well-known painter of landscapes and portraits. With the support of his father, Armagan mastered many techniques to assist his painting process, including carving into cardboard to reproduce shapes he felt with his hands, placing his colored pencils in a specific order, using stencils, and making relief paintings with raised surfaces so he could paint by touch. The narrative begins with Armagan's childhood and discusses the challenges he faced pursuing a career in art as a blind man. Letters of encouragement from other blind people, television fame, and the support of doctors kept him working. Gadotti portrays elements of Armagan's story alongside a peppering of photographs of the artist's paintings. The color palette of Gadotti's illustrations mirrors Armagan's own work.