Lewis Williams – Gold in Every Dot

The first Braille portrait of a Commonwealth Games boxing champion.

For this very special commission, I created what I believe to be the first portrait of its kind — a portrait of Commonwealth Games gold medallist and professional heavyweight boxer Lewis Williams, created entirely from Braille dots.

Lewis won heavyweight gold for England at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, and I wanted to capture that incredible moment in a way that went beyond simply creating a picture of a boxer.

Using more than 8,000 individual coloured dots, I spent three months and more than 100 hours creating the portrait. But the dots aren’t simply there to make up the image — they tell a story.

Hidden within the artwork is Braille connected to Lewis, his journey and his Commonwealth Games achievement. That means the portrait can be experienced visually, but it can also be explored through touch — creating an artwork that brings sight and touch together.

As a blind artist, that’s what makes this piece so important to me.

I can’t see the portrait in the traditional sense. I create through touch, understanding, colour, memory, pattern and storytelling. So when someone who is blind runs their fingers across the work, they aren’t just touching a picture — they’re discovering the story within it.

The portrait also has a very personal purpose.

Lewis is an ambassador for The Myton Hospices, a charity that supported his family when his dad was receiving end-of-life care. Lewis has made fundraising for Myton a huge part of his journey, with an ambition to raise £1 million throughout his boxing career.

The artwork will be auctioned to raise funds for Myton, giving the piece a life beyond the studio and turning the dots into something even more powerful — a way of raising money, awareness and continuing Lewis’s story.

The project was also featured by BBC South, bringing the story of the artwork, Lewis and Myton to a much wider audience.

From the ring to the dots

Lewis trained for years to win his Commonwealth gold.

I trained for three months to tell that story.

Different kinds of training. Same determination.

And that, for me, is what Connecting the Dots is all about — taking two worlds that might seem completely different and finding the connection between them.

8,000+ dots.

100+ hours.

One Commonwealth champion.

One very special story.

And hopefully, one big impact for Myton.

This is Mr Dot — connecting the dots between art, accessibility, sport and purpose.