Bristol artist gets his sight back

The view from Hank Adlam's flat on Bristol's Harbourside is stunning. Through his sitting room window, a variety of boats on the Floating Harbour and the brightly-painted houses on the hills of Cliftonwood form a colourful backdrop.

One of the reasons Hank moved here six years ago was because he liked looking out at the constantly changing vista.

It was as he was marvelling at the scene one day that he realised there was something wrong with his sight.

"See those railings," he says, pointing to the vertical metal bars on his balcony.

"When I looked at them, they weren't straight any longer, they were all wiggly and distorted.

"You know how when you drop water on a photograph or picture, and everything under the water seems to go all wavy? Well, it's like that with your vision when you've got wet AMD."

Hank, 87, had already lost much of the sight in his right eye because of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a slowly-progressing, untreatable condition resulting from damage to the macular, an area of the retina responsible for sharp, clear vision.

When he went to see a consultant about the problems with his left eye a year ago, he discovered that it had been caused by wet AMD – a more aggressive condition that accounts for just 15 per cent of cases of AMD, but is responsible for 90 per cent of cases of AMD-related blindness.

It seemed Hank would never again be able to produce the detailed oil paintings that had won him acclaim as an artist, including twice exhibiting his aviation and marine paintings at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, and being invited to display his work at Christie's in London.

But then he discovered the condition could be treated by a drug called Lucentis that has to be injected directly into the eye – and that he was suitable for treatment as his eyesight had not degenerated too badly.

"It's a wonderful gift," he says.

"I already couldn't see very well with my right eye. I started losing my sight in it about six years ago, and now just have some peripheral vision.

"If I hadn't been allowed this treatment and had lost the sight in my left eye I'd have gone completely blind.

"But about four or five days after I had the first injection, everything began to look normal again."

Certainly, although Hank's blue eyes are slightly rheumy, he appears to have no problems seeing what is going on around him.

He clearly registers the expression on my face when he is talking about having an injection in the eye, and declares: "Please don't imply that this is frightening!"

He continues: "The last thing I'd want to do is put anyone off having this wonderful treatment. You get anaesthetic on your eye before the needle goes in, and it makes such a difference to your sight."

Hank began painting after taking early retirement for health reasons from his job as bursar at Clifton College in the early Eighties.

"I had no real interest in art at school after getting the cane as a 14-year-old for turning a piece of paper into a paper plane," he said.

"After that I never drew again. I don't think you can teach painting."

Hank instead enjoyed a varied career, flying as a wartime fighter pilot with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm and then becoming commercial manager with Short Brothers in Northern Ireland. It was while he was there in the Fifties that he began to paint in oils and became a successful exhibitor at the Royal Ulster Academy.

However, he unfortunately had to give up painting because of work demands.

He then returned with his family to his home city of Bristol, where he worked as commercial manager at Rolls-Royce for a number of years, and then spent 13 years as bursar of Clifton College. After his retirement from that job, following a heart attack, he began painting in oils again.

"I paint rubbish mostly," he insists modestly, before admitting: "I suppose some people must like it, because I sell a lot."

I notice a photograph in the hallway showing former prime minister Baroness Thatcher looking at one of Hank's paintings.

"That was at the Victory Services Club in London. They bought one of my paintings from Christie's and she particularly admired it when she visited the club on its centenary."

Hank no longer paints aviation art. "I can't do the detail that I used to when painting aircraft and you've got to be absolutely exact with aircraft," he explains.

"It's not just about your skill as an artist but also your technical knowledge. You can blag it in a lot of things in this world but you have got to know exactly what you're doing when you're painting aircraft.

"I also can't paint the rigging on ships so well, which is a shame as I did enjoy painting the old trading ships of the late 19th century."

Hank now concentrates mainly on landscapes, particularly of Wales, which he used to visit with his late wife Heather.

"We used to go for long walks there. I love the wildness of the place. When I started painting again after getting my sight back, I started recalling those days.

"I don't like painting pretty things – except girls, of course – I prefer moody things.

"When I started to go blind, I had to tell people that I couldn't undertake any more commissions.

"Now I can paint again, even though it's not in the same detail as before. I hope my exhibition will show people that I'm back in action."

● The exhibition can be seen from December 4 to January 2 at the Grant Bradley Gallery, 1 St Peter's Court, Bedminster Parade, Bristol, BS3 4AQ. The gallery is open from Monday to Saturday, 10am-5pm. For further call 01179 637673.