Aylesbury man registered blind aged just 30 finds comfort and confidence in his art work

A 30-year-old Aylesbury man, who was recently registered blind, is creating artwork to help him cope.

Adrian Paternoster was diagnosed with severe impairment vision – a genetic condition – in January.

The diagnosis was long overdue for Adrian, who began losing his sight in 2021.

He said: “It was a big shock. I had started bumping into things in 2021. At first I just thought I was being a bit clumsy but eventually I knew something was wrong. I thought I was losing my mind after waiting a year for the results.”

Adrian struggles with tunnel vision which he describes as ‘the edges closing in’ with the middle being ‘blurry’. While research is still being carried out into the condition, Adrian has been told his vision is likely to continue to deteriorate over time.

He said: “The doctors are quite cryptic and say they have no answers to tell me. It’s so scary, I’m completely in the dark, worrying about when it will get worse.

“Family and friends in the community have been really amazing though. And my wife is my rock – an absolute diamond.”

Adrian was working as a window-maker but his sight got too bad for him to continue.

He explained: “I’ve had to give up my work - my livelihood. The workplace was really supportive and they put lots of measures in place but it was getting too dangerous making windows so I had to leave.

“It’s been financially stressful and it’s left me in a no man’s land worrying about finance mentally. It can be really isolating because I live in a top floor flat and I’m worried I’ll fall down the stairs.”

To help him cope with his emotions and the impact of his sight loss, Adrian has been developing his talent and love of artwork. The artist has discovered the use of pastels to create an impression of the scenery he can make out, filling in the details from his imagination.

And, in spite of his own struggles, he has been leaving his artwork – mainly scenes of the area where he lives – the picturesque Watermead in Aylesbury – for the community to find and keep.

He explained: “It’s got me through the worst of times – it’s my comfort blanket. And with the community on side, it’s really helped my confidence.

“People are going through difficult times with prices going up so I like to drop free artwork where people can find it to brighten their day.”

As well as continuing his ‘art drops’, Adrian is aiming to make a career out of his talent, with a fraction of sales going to Saving Sight – a charity which has been supporting him with his sight loss.

And he is already on the road to success after Bucks Museum accepted a piece of his artwork to display from April 24, which will be available to buy.

To view more of Adrian’s work – and even find it hiding in a local park – Follow his page Just Be Youu on Facebook.