August 22, 2018 Margaret McNeil, a 95-year-old pensioner from Bothwell, has produced more than 350 works of art despite her […]
Margaret McNeil, a 95-year-old pensioner from Bothwell, has produced more than 350 works of art despite her poor eyesight.
She’s completely blind in one eye and partially blind in the other, and instead uses her sense of touch and memory to create her pieces.
After her husband George died in 1994, a friend invited Margaret along to art classes.
She met local artist and teacher Duncan Brown, who encouraged her to keep up her passion for painting, despite her deteriorating sight.
She said: “It wasn’t long after my husband had died and I didn’t feel like going, but I did and everyone was so nice.
“I met Duncan and we’ve been great friends ever since.
“When I lost the sight in my left eye Duncan said I mustn’t give up. I’ve done all the paintings from memory which sounds daft.
I can’t do as much as I used to but I get there.”
Her paintings of animals, birds and landscapes are skillful and eye-catching, and unless you know Margaret personally, you wouldn’t realise that she only has partial sight in one of her eyes.
Margaret is a mother of two and grandmother of three, and she still lives an active life.
Margaret is also an avid baker and has become a local hit with her homebaking.
She uses talking scales and clocks to help her, and regularly gifts her popular lemon sponge and coffee and walnut cake to the church, the police station, and the dentist.