When Fernando Dávila was 8 years old in Colombia, he failed a drawing class because he painted donkeys red.
There was a reason for that: He is colourblind.
Now the 72-year-old Fernando is an established and respected artist whose vibrant paintings have been exhibited in South America, Europe and the United States.
“I have the most wonderful job in the world, which is painting every morning,” Fernando said from his studio in a Miami suburb. “To mix colours. To have joy to share with the world, that's really my passion.”
He started off painting only in black and white until he was around 30 years old because of his colourblindness, a congenital condition which makes it difficult for people to tell the difference between certain colours, particularly red and green, and shades of colour. There is no cure for the condition, which for Fernando also makes the colours pink, violet, turquoise and yellow-green confusing.
Since the mid-1980s, Fernando has painted in colour through the help of glasses developed by an ophthalmologist in New York, where Fernando was living at the time. One lens is transparent and the other is shaded red, and they help him discriminate between contrasting shades that normally blur together. With the lenses, he can see almost two-thirds of the colours, but without them he only sees around 40% of the colours.
Fernando compared his condition to having a box of chocolates but only being able to eat a sample of the selection. He says he has such a strong desire to see every colour.
“It's something that I miss in my life, that if somebody says, ‘Look at this flower,’ which is bright, bright pink, I want to do it,” he said. “It's something that comes from my heart so passionately. I can feel the vibration of colour.”
Colourblindness runs his family. A grandfather and some great uncles only saw in black and white, while his mother and her three sisters also were colourblind even though the condition is rarer in women. His two brothers also have trouble discriminating between colours.
Fernando has spent his career in Colombia, New York and Florida. He was awarded the “Order of Democracy” by the Colombian Congress in 1999 for his contribution to the arts. He also has published two hardcover books and many catalogues about his paintings, and his work has appeared at major auctions including Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
His paintings include romantic images of men and women embracing and landscapes, often using the colour blue as a foundation.
“I think colour is one of the most important things in life,” he said. “And especially for me.”
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