Blackman Patterson was born on 22 December 1928 with her twin sister, Coralie Hilda, who died 16 days later. Three years later her father, W.H. Patterson, died and her mother, Gertrude Olson Patterson, was able to support them both by working as an accountant. She attended Brisbane State High School where she developed what was to be a lifelong love of music. She also developed an early interest in writing, and was a member, with Pamela Crawford, Judith Wright and Thea Astley, of the Barjai group of writers in Brisbane. She had poor eyesight from an early age and, at 22, was diagnosed with optic atrophy. Her vision deteriorated rapidly and she became completely blind. Blackman became an artist's model who was in high demand by many leading modernist artists in Australia such as Clifton Pugh and Fred Williams, and appears in many of Charles Blackman's, works, including his Alice In Wonderland series of paintings.
Work and interests
Blackman has lived a self-described unconventional life according to her autobiography. In a documentary film about her, Seeing From Within, released in 2017, Blackman states, "I could not have lived a conventional life, as I could not have picked up the rules". She has exhibited a wide range of intellectual interests and abilities. For example, she wrote the libretto for Peter Sculthorpe's Eliza Surviva., an autobiography, and a humorous book of verse. Blackman's work is highly valued, as evidenced in the collection of correspondence between Blackman and her friend, the poet Judith Wright, published in 2007, and in the list of numerous resources written by her and about her that has been collected in the Australian Women's Register. Nevertheless, Blackman has maintained a humble attitude about her intellectual pursuits, saying, "I go with the angels and they know more than we do," she says. "I told them what I wanted and they showed me the way."
Marriage and children
She married the artist Charles Blackman in 1952 and they lived in Melbourne, supported by her income as an artist's model and from the blind pension and his earnings as a kitchen hand, most of which went to pay for costs associated with maintaining Charles' studio. They divorced in 1978 after Charles' alcoholism had escalated over their marriage of nearly 30 years, which she described as "one of the great marriages, which lasted as long as possible, and a bit longer". Blackman had three children by Charles. She later married Marcel Veldhoven and moved with him to a retreat on the South Coast of NSW. When this relationship ended she moved to Canberra.
Recognition
In 2012, Blackman was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia "for distinguished service to the arts and to the community, as a supporter of artistic performance, through philanthropic contributions, and as an advocate for people who are blind and partially sighted."
