Customer Reviews

Brush with Darkness: Learning to Paint After Losing My Sight

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As Lisa Fittipaldi's "art dealer extraordinaire," I was honored to be included in her touching account of how she overcame going blind and went on to produce such moving realism in her paintings. As I read the book, I found myself unable to put it down, despite the fact that I have known the artist for more than five years and thought I knew her whole story. This book shows Lisa's journey to re-enter the sighted world after going blind and how she used art to find that path. The following quotes from the jacket cover indicate how this book inspired Natalie Maines, Heloise, Kinky Freidman, and Rick Riordan.

"This book goes far beyond learning how a blind painter creates her works of art. It is an honest, heartfelt look at a woman who struggles to overcome her own faults and fears to find her authentic self."
- Natalie Maines, lead singer of the Dixie Chicks

"A truly inspirational story with highlights, lowlights, and lessons we can all learn from."
- Heloise, international household hints columnist

"Lisa Fittipaldi is a great artist who also happens to be blind. "A Brush with Darkness" is the story of how art imitates life, and how life imitates art, and how both are mirror reflections of the miracle that is the human spirit."
- Kinky Friedman, singer, songwriter, and author

"By turns poignant, enthralling, and uplifting, "A Brush with Darkness" is a tribute to human perseverance and creativity. Lisa Fittipaldi writes as she paints - with deft strokes and vibrant color."
- Rick Riordan, Edgar Award-winning author

I got so caught up in this story about a blind painter that I read it in one sitting. More than a compelling tale about overcoming adversity, `A Brush With Darkness' took me vividly into the world of blindness and helped me understand what it's like to live in a forbidding and inescapable blackness. Lisa Fittipaldi takes you step-by-step through the process by which she slowly learned to paint and, in doing so, learned to live again in the world. I highly recomend this book for anyone drepressed about their own little world.

If you have ever wondered what it is like to be blind, "A Brush With Darkness" will bring that experience alive. Lisa Fittipaldi is a good storyteller, funny and insightful. She knew nothing about art before she lost her sight, so she had to learn everything about perspective and composition and color from scratch, in her own unique way, so her insights into art and painting are unique. Why did she learn to paint? Fittipaldi says that learning to master the world of a canvas helped her to `map' her environment so she could get around on her own. She makes you understand her quest to live in the sighted world. The author makes no bones about how angry and defensive she was for years, and how her experience transformed her life to the point where she says, incredibly, that she had accepted her blindness, and feels like she is a happier person today, with a richer and more fulfilling life. A good read.

I read this book in one sitting. Fascinating story about a brave and talented woman. The editors review does not do it justice! This book made me want to clean closets and get a PHD. Her approach to life, to art and to change is a lesson we could all adapt into our daily rountine. The art she creates is an added bonus and she gives us an unintentional glimpse into the mind of a creative genius. It is a must read.

It took an incredible loss for Lisa Fittipaldi to become a winner. Her inability to see the world from the outside forces her to look within. The author entices you from the beginning by intimately sharing her painful discovery into who she really was, and wasn't. A brilliant career woman channels her intelligence, determination, and resourcefulness into finding an answer, but not knowing to what. As her health continues to deteriorate she explores every dimension imaginable desperately attempting to discover her purpose in life. Miracuously everything seems to flow together and manifests itself in every stroke of her brush. It is difficult to conceive that her images come from an internal memmory bank, eloquently transfering onto canvas. Just as skillfully she takes the reader through this process managing to explain the impossible. After reading all night I finished the book feeling refreshed and inspired. A remarkable woman!

I usually do not read non fiction but happened upon this book cruising the Internet. I went to the author's website and was blown away by the art and the talent it displayed. Then I bought the book. The book has insight, inspiration, a fast and fascinating read and ideas about creativity and talent that made me think. I found I was talking about it at the office and on the golf course.

Inspirational, educational and a creative tool. I bought this book and after reading it felt that I could do just about anything if I tried. Great resource for anyone who feels that they have lost their creative or motivational edge. Really fascinating story about art and how the artist does it.

This is a well-written story about a woman who, after being suddenly plunged into darkness, struggling with denial and profound depression, ultimately triumphs and goes on to soar into a life she could never have imagined. This is a truly inspirational story which has lessons for all of us.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting the author and her husband. I thought she was inspiring after a short visit over breakfast. But until reading this book, I had only seen the tip of the iceberg! It is amazing that someone who has endured so much can remain so positive and create great works on canvas as well as create great impacts on the lives of others. There is so much inspiration in this book. This will be great for Christmas gifts!

This book taught me a lesson in endurance and the possibilities of the human condition...we all have the ability to undergo great traumas and survive. From her experiences, unique view of the world, her ability to paint and her great sense of humor, anyone reading this book would feel like they could survive any hardship, master any skill and be a better person for the changes that would occur. You cannot help but feel by reading this book that life is just grand as it is if you only learn to get a sense of humor and smile more often. The intention of the book is to talk about creativity and change but the added bonus is a perspective on the world that makes the reader glow with delight, feel energized by the insight and rooting for change.