Remarkable artist overcomes blindness to stage exhibition A BATTLE against blindness meant that Patrick Murphy's latest exhibition, 'New Horizons', almost never saw the light of day. Last Christmas, Patrick faced every artist's worst nightmare when he suddenly lost his sight, due to illness. With his excellent reputation, ongoing commitments and a lifelong passion for painting, the outlook for this well known artist could hardly have seemed bleaker.

Patrick, however, is not the kind of man to back down in the face of a challenge. He turned a blind eye to pessimism and decided to fight for his sight.

This challenge makes the paintings that will shortly go on display at Paxton House even more extraordinary than their scope, immediacy and sheer evocative power suggest.

"I was determined that I would paint again," said Patrick, whose work over many years has earned him a wealth of admirers in the Scottish Borders, as well as further afield.

In spite of eye surgery, it took a positive attitude and a great deal of perseverance for Patrick's artistic output to reach its previous standards.

"The greatest difficulty at first was that the brush kept landing on the paper half an inch from where I'd intended it to," he explained. "It took a lot of discipline and practice to train myself into seeing properly again.

"I guess you could say my art skipped a beat. But I set my restored sights on the upcoming exhibition at Paxton House and refused to entertain the idea that it wouldn't happen."

Patrick's hard work and willpower has more than paid off. Indeed, it is almost impossible to believe that the artist responsible for the 'New Horizons' exhibition was effectively blind less than a year ago.

His watercolours bring to vivid, perceptive life scenes from as far afield as the Scottish Borders, western Wales, France, Italy, Croatia and the Outer Hebrides.

Visitors will be treated to secluded courtyards, dynamic coastlines, Mediterranean sunshine, brooding Scottish skies and a vividly rich selection of other views, all executed with a fluent sense of time and place and with, well... with a truly gifted artistic eye.

Patrick, who has been a frequent and popular exhibitor at Paxton House for many years, said: "I'm really delighted that my first major exhibition since my return to painting will be here. I feel a special affinity with Paxton House, so this is the perfect place to celebrate my comeback. It's a special exhibition for me and I hope that visitors to Paxton House will enjoy it too."

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