Black Sheep Beautiful

I’ve recently have had the privilege of getting to know a blind man. He plays the piano, and when he learned about my synesthesia he asked if I would tell him the colors of one of his favorite pieces. (For the curious, he said he still remembers color!)
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I was thrilled. I so seldom get asked to paint music. The piece he sent me was “The Lord’s Prayer,” and to my delight, he’d played it on the jazz piano setting of his keyboard. Piano music is typically rich maroons, wines, and gold colors. But not this time.
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The song was dark teal, turquoise, sky blue, taupe, and gold. “It looks like the ocean crashing on the sandy shore,” I wrote to my friend. He replied that the beach was one of his last visual memories before he lost his sight completely. What a sweet equivalence that even though my friend couldn’t see my little painting with his eyes, he could through his memories.

Painted in 2025.