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Second Sense - Beyond Vision Loss

Passionate Focus 2021

To see all of each artist’s work and to read their bio, simply click on their name.

Most of the work shown here is available for sale during our Passionate Focus 2021 Virtual event. Visit our event website and go to Artwork and Featured Items to see the prices and to bid.

Amber Miller

Amber Miller

"With the unfailing encourage of family and friends, I am happily allowing dreams, imaginings and stories to spill from the brush. My reduced physical vision has become a gateway to a richer, inner sight."

  1. Calypso
  2. Scraps
Annie Hesse

Annie Hesse

As a photographer, who is visually impaired, Annie has become more aware of her objectives and intentions over time and with experience. She now uses color and close-ups to present her perspective of the world. Color, shape, texture and contrast are the key elements in her photographs, not to mention the physical distance between the camera and the subject.

  1. Coastline
  2. Me Too
  3. Orientation
Barbara Oswald

Barbara Oswald

“My focus provides a creative way for me to share my ‘lack of visual acuity’ and my passion for artistic expression. My work often surprise sighted people. It takes time to ‘see’ the visual image. Is there a foreground? When does the background become the foreground?"

  1. Fractured Time
Barbara Romain

Barbara Romain

"I’ve learned to use what abilities I still have in creating my work. This work is less inspired by what I see and more by what I hear, remember and imagine."

  1. Day of the Drum
  2. For All We Know
Camille Jassny

Camille Jassny

"When other people appreciate what I do, it confirms that even though I cannot see the result of my effort, it still has value. Sharing my art allows me to show how I visualize the world, how even blindness can be full of color and beauty; each piece a window into how I see without sight."

  1. Behind the Curtain
Carol Sue Henry

Carol Sue Henry

Carol Sue is a very talented individual. She enjoys painting, playing the organ, playing the piano, playing two types of keyboards and the guitar! Friends and the county life are among her loves.

  1. Country Barn
Charles Blackwell

Charles Blackwell

“My blindness, in a sense, gives me the originality. When painting, I’ll strain my eye to see, until the reality of being partially blind registers.” He then relies on instinct, sloshing colors between thick lines, serendipitously moving his art along the path to completion." BNY Mellon is Charles' Patron Sponsor for Passionate Focus 2021.

  1. Bass Player and That Last String
  2. Running Africa
  3. See Afro Cuban Dancers Mourn with Joy
  4. Two Party System
  5. Water Street F Train Station
Constance Avery

Constance Avery

The thrill of discovering colors, lights, and atmospheric presence (shadows and light) inspires me to push the boundaries of acrylic painting to another level. Painting, for me, is about the exploration of lines, colors, and composition to discover/see what can be created visually. I drip acrylic ink for spontaneous lines." HarbourVest Partners is Connie's Patron Sponsor for Passionate Focus 2021.

  1. Gardenias
  2. Monet's Garden
  3. Serenity (Judi Jasek Jurors' Choice Award: First Place)
Frank Valliere

Frank Valliere

Light, color, shape, and texture combine to provide the atmospheres that drive Frank’s work. Nuveen is the Patron Sponsor of Frank's work in Passionate Focus 2021.

  1. La La La
  2. Teach Bob a Lesson
Hamilton Eugene Byrd

Hamilton Eugene Byrd

"I have been drawing and painting for a long time and will do so as long as I am able. Being blessed with this talent is the greatest joy."

  1. City in Black and White
  2. Flowers for Sister
Julie Bruno

Julie Bruno

“I was diagnosed with RP 35 years ago.  One day, someone told me that I was not artistic.  I decided to prove them wrong.  Having been raised with a mindset that 'if you try you CAN,' I decided to not let RP win. I am self-taught and generally focus on architecturals. However, with COVID confinement and last year’s political climate, my art took a divergent path."

  1. Liberty's Tears
  2. Lincoln's Torment
Leticia de Guzman

Leticia de Guzman

I joined the art class at the Lighthouse pf SW Florida and discovered the joy of painting. I had no experience or training. My color ID app on my smart phone helps me identify colors for my paintings. I paint by imagination or images copied from reality."

  1. Birch Trees
Linn Sorge

Linn Sorge

My current teacher, Heather Winslow, has helped me to understand color theory and has encouraged me to work with a variety of colors. I tend to think of them as music — one color might be like a cheerful little melody in a major key, another might sound bold and strong. Add them together and you have a new piece of hand-woven artwork. Aberdeen Standard is Linn's Patron Sponsor for Passionate Focus 2021.

  1. Marilyn's Either Or Choice #1 (NOT FOR SALE)
  2. Blue and Gray for the Kitchen (NOT FOR SALE)
  3. Lightening Bolt in a Rainbow (NOT FOR SALE)
Passle Helminski

Passle Helminski

"My focus provides a creative way for me to share my “lack of visual acuity” and my passion for artistic expression."

  1. Blue Dog
  2. Chocolate Teapot
  3. Fur and Lines
Rose Kamma Morrison

Rose Kamma Morrison

"Living with deaf-blindness is not an easy journey so I hope my expressions bring you positivity and beauty that in itself makes my journey easier. Welcome to my garden."

  1. Moon Shadow
  2. Seeking Element 79 (Judi Jasek Jurors' Choice Award: Second Place)
  3. Vigilando El Caos
Rosemarie Fortney

Rosemarie Fortney

"Limited tunnel vision, which some may view as a 'limiting factor' of RP, I find artistically 'frames' and presents to me a dynamic statement, as in Vortex depicting tumultuous forces exerting into spiraling, disruptive energies, with a possible 'turn' hinting toward resolution." National Investment Services is Rose's Patron Sponsors for Passionate Focus 2021.

  1. Vortex
Russell Schermer

Russell Schermer

"I don't see the models I use in my work with my eyes, but I see them in the mind's eye. Whether I'm working from a die cast model or the real thing, the final work is a product of my interpretation. Because my pieces are all handmade, each one is slightly different."

  1. 1958 Corvette
  2. 1960 MG
Sam Smith

Sam Smith

Much of Sam’s work is inspired by the humor that can be found in ordinary language and symbols, Sam is also a musician.  Drawing and music feed off each other, so that an image may provide the title for a song or help illustrate the lyrics, and vice versa.

  1. Darkest Flower
  2. Home of the Grave (Judi Jasek Jurors' Choice Award: Third Place)
  3. It's Only Natural (Judi Jasek Jurors' Choice Award: Third Place)
Stella De Genova

Stella De Genova

"What is left of my vision is a couple of muted colors but mostly shades of gray.  I have a minimal field of vision and what I do see is blurred.  As natural or artificial light around me dims, so does my vision.  Working on a painting has become more and more intimidating because I still want to hold my work up to the standards of the visual world. I realize that the colors or details may not be exact, and I can only hope that it can add to the personality of the painting.  Out of necessity, this makes my style looser."

  1. Color Series 2: Vice President
  2. Contemplation
Susan Joy Gustafson

Susan Joy Gustafson

"A blank canvas used to scare me. Now I savor the magical alchemy of water pigments, salt and paper! After drawing a composition, black pigma ink is added to define shapes. Joy begins to flower as the pigments are introduced. There is an ongoing experience of brainstorming whimsical nuances that will bring pleasure." Parametric is Suzy's Patron Sponsor.

  1. Hanalei Dreaming
  2. Poppy Power
  3. Rainy Day Tulips
Virginia Knepper Doyle

Virginia Knepper Doyle

"To me, creating art is like playing with color and line, and the fun I have in creating each image keeps my work looking young and playful. I cannot see the details now that my macular deterioration has created certain blind spots in my vision, but this adds to the excitement of creating.  I have come to believe that what one does not see, what is beneath the surface, is what the meaning of this piece actually is."

  1. Black Lives Matter
  2. Prayer of St. Francis