Artist uses different vision to create her paintings

Veronica Galati doesn't let eyesight be an obstacle

She has blind spots in the center of her field of vision. She can't see oncoming traffic, so she can't drive. When she looks into a mirror to apply makeup, all she sees is a blur. To view a photograph, she must hold the picture so close to her face that it touches her nose.

So it's all the more incredible that Veronica Galati, 68, who has macular degeneration, can paint fine details like a sighted person. Maybe even better than a sighted person.

Four paintings of Galati's can be seen at the pro shop at Siena Golf Course, 10575 Siena Monte Ave. They have, fittingly, a golf theme and feature Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen and Payne Stewart.

The oversized paintings are on display until Jan. 15.

Doctors have no explanation for how she can paint and draw with such expertise. Lately, she likes doing sports figures and her paintings exhibit the likenesses of famous athletes.

"I hold a picture of them up to my nose and inwardly I get a picture, an impression, of what I want to portray," she said. "There's no struggling, it's almost instantaneous. I thank God for this gift."

As a child growing up in the New York City area, Galati was fitted with glasses in the third grade. Her eyesight didn't affect her drawing abilities then, either. Teachers noted her talent and soon she was taking classes at the Pratt Institute. She went on to earn her master's degree at Hunter College.

Galati taught art for many years but took time off as opportunities arose. In 1972, for example, she received a scholarship that gave her the chance to study in Rome.

Her work has appeared in galleries and museums, is in private and corporate collections, and has received praise from art magazines.

Among her awards are those from prestigious facilities -- the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art -- for her entry in an event held at the Queens Art Museum in 1981.

In 1992, she was commissioned to do paintings of the latest inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. That experience eventually led to the golf-themed series on display at the pro shop. There is a second painting of Woods in that series, but she opted to keep it at her house.

When her eyesight got too bad to teach, Galati took it in stride and began sculpting, an art form that relies heavily on the sense of touch. Attempts at painting at that point resulted in the inward vision technique, and now she enjoys sculpting, oil painting and drawing.

Her paintings usually sell for $3,000 to $10,000.

Galati's attention to detail results in paintings that are true to the athlete they portray.

"(If Tiger Woods saw his picture) he might think he was looking into a mirror," said Barry Walburn, head golf pro at Siena.

For her next series, Galati plans to stay with athletes. This time, the paintings will feature celebrities in all different sports.

Never married, the artist, who has a great sense of humor, said she wouldn't mind finding a husband.

"But it'd have to be a guy with a car because I can't see to drive," she said.

For information on the Siena exhibit, call 341-9200.


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