A painting by Diane Perez, a trainer at the Austin Lighthouse, was chosen to be part of a collection of art displayed at the Hadley Institute for the Blind & Visually impaired in Chicago, Illinois.
Perez’s painting, I Dream of Seabeck, captures a memorable view from her first trip to the annual Deafblind Retreat in Seabeck, Washington. She covered the 22”x28” canvas with a line of towering pine trees and glistening still waters. “I decided to do this painting because it was symbolic of what I remembered mostly about Seabeck,” said Perez.
The painting was originally part of an art exhibit at the Austin Lighthouse. The Lighthouse displays a rotating gallery of art from ArtSpark Texas, an organization that provides inclusive art programs for people with diverse abilities, at their headquarters. While closing out one of the exhibits a few months ago, Perez received an email about a Call for Artists who have taken courses through Hadley. She is currently taking Braille courses through the school, so she submitted her piece.
On December 11, she received notification that her painting had been selected to be part of the Learner’s Art Collection and will be hung in the main building of the school. “I was pretty blown away when I got the email,” Perez recalled. She had forgotten she submitted the piece and was honored that her painting was accepted by Hadley.
“This is an establishment that has opened so many doors for people like myself that are wanting to learn Braille and become more efficient in their skills.”
Perez, a self-taught artist has been painting for nearly 25 years. Another one of her ArtSpark pieces, All You Need is Love, was sold at an auction held by the Deafblind Multi-Handicapped Association of Texas (DBMAT). It was purchased by Dr. Fareed Kahn of Touch Base: Center for The Deafblind.
“As a Deafblind individual, this was too an honor to know my piece would be going to a wonderful place for DeafBlind to learn and participate in activities.”
To view more art by Diane Perez and other ArtSpark artists, visit the Austin Lighthouse at 4512 S. Pleasant Valley Road in Austin, Texas. Hours are 8am to 4:30pm CST.