Blind artist creates Braille portrait of boxer

A blind artist has created a portrait of heavyweight boxer Lewis Williams completely out of Braille.

Clarke Reynolds, also known as Mr Dot, spent three months creating the artwork of Williams winning his gold Commonwealth Games medal using more than 8,000 dots.

Reynolds, from Havant in Hampshire, said: "Just like any boxer building up for a fight, you have to put the hours in, the training. It took me three months to do; that's over 100 hours."

Williams, from Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, said the portrait was "really special".

"It's reading a lot, of not just my life, but what was going on in the tournament whilst I was boxing there," Williams said.

"It has my name throughout it; you can see the skill and time that's been put in it as well."

Meeting Williams to show him the portrait, Reynolds joked: "I hope it looks like you, because I can't see it, remember."

Reynolds has gradually been losing his sight since he was six years old and has been using Braille as an art form for around eight years.

As his career evolved, he created the persona Mr Dot when he started going into schools to teach children about Braille.

The artist created the portrait, which he said was the first of its kind, to help raise money for the hospice that cared for Williams's dad during the final weeks of his life.

"I say they're like angels that swept into my house on the last few weeks of my dad's life; they swept in and helped my mum out with the care," Williams said.

"I picked them and thought they've done a great job with my family. . . why not try and help?"

Reynolds added: "It has a legacy; Lewis has got big plans for it. If there's anything an artist can do to help, hopefully it raises lots of money."

Williams has plans for the future of the artwork, which includes putting it on show.

"I think it's a bit too much detail; it shouldn't be in one person's house," he told the BBC.

"Even if someone bought it. I don't think it should be for one person.

"It should be on show for other people that are blind that can actually read the Braille and see the whole story to it. I can only see the picture, but there's actually a lot more behind it."

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