Like any other artist, 20-year-old Annie Liang loves the creative process of bringing the vision in her mind alive on the canvas.

Unlike other artists though, being vision impaired means that she will never get to see what she creates.

Annie embodies the underpinning belief of the Greenacres Outsider Artists which is that with the right support, materials and techniques everybody has the ability to create art.

She replaces everything that the eyes would do with her heightened sense of touch and the results are beautiful “ paintings that are full of colour and texture and very uniquely Annie.

The artist is one of 100 people who attend the Greenacres Outsider Artists program each week under the guidance of professional artist and qualified art therapist, Victoria Velozo.

Victoria said that even though she exhibits her own art internationally, nothing in her personal career has ever compared to supporting a person with disability to express themselves artistically.

It has been amazing for me to work with Annie, to see how she uses touch and texture in place of her sight has been inspiring, Victoria said.

By using tape to make guidelines that she can feel and using textured materials to make collages, Annie has found her own way of personal expression.

Annie’s work is just one of many artworks on display at the Outsider Artists Exhibition held from 22 August to 1 September at Project Contemporary Artspace in Keira Street, Wollongong.

Once again, the exhibition has amazed everyone who has seen it with the quality and the variety of the art on display. To the delight of the artists themselves, many of the artworks have already been sold.

As demand for the Outsider Artists program increases, Victoria and her team, are excited about the upcoming transformation of an empty warehouse near the Greenacres North Wollongong site into a vibrant art hub.

Our dream is to have a space that is not only big enough to accommodate all our artists but also allow them to pursue a range of artistic techniques, Victoria said.

Painting on canvas and using texture works for Annie but some may not find their artistic voice until they try sculpture, ceramics, mosaics or textiles.

It will be wonderful to be able to offer the program is a space that has been designed for our needs.