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When Fernando Davila was 8 years old ColombiaHe failed drawing class because he painted donkeys red.
There was a reason for this: he is color-blind.
Now 72, Davila is an established and respected artist whose vibrant paintings have been exhibited South America, Europe and this United States of America,
“I have the most amazing job in the world, which is to paint every morning,” Davila said from his studio in a Miami suburb. “Mixing colors. Sharing joy with the world, that’s really my passion.”
He began painting only in black and white until he was about 30, as his color-blindness was a congenital condition that made it difficult for people to distinguish between certain colors, especially red and green, and shades of color. There is no cure for this condition, which makes the colors pink, purple, turquoise and even yellow-green confusing for Davila.
Since the mid-1980s, Davila has begun to paint with the help of glasses developed by an ophthalmologist. new yorkWhere Davila was living at the time. One lens is transparent and the other red, and they help him to discriminate between contrasting colors that would normally blur together. With the lenses, he can see about two-thirds of the colors, but without them he can only see about 40% of the colors.
Davila compared his situation to having a box of chocolates, but he could only eat a sample of the selected chocolates. He says that he has a very strong desire to see every color.
He said, “It’s something I miss in my life, that if someone says, ‘Look at this flower that’s bright, bright pink,’ I want to do that.” “It’s something that comes so passionately from my heart. I can feel the vibration of the color.”
His family survives due to color blindness. A grandfather and some older uncles saw only in black and white, while his mother and three of his sisters were also color-blind, although the condition is rare in women. Both his brothers also have trouble discriminating between colors.
Davila 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 contributions to the arts. He has also published two hardcover books and several catalogs 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 color blue as a base.
“I think color is one of the most important things in life,” he said. “And especially for me.”
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Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida contributed to this report.