Despite being in-born colorblind, a 26-year-old artist from Quezon City left social media users in awe with his realistic drawings of prominent historical figures, animals, and more.

Charlie Sulayao utilizes his incredible talent and burning passion for art to give his work some life through a striking palette of colors, notwithstanding his lack of perception of pigments.

Among his recent works was a portrait of his beloved dog, Sydney, painted in a reimagined version of the world-famous masterpiece “Mona Lisa” by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci

Painter shifts from monochrome to multicolored

Sulayao revealed to the Inquirer that he inherited colorblindness from his father’s side, resulting in him and all of his siblings with the same visual impairment.

However, his condition did not stop him from pursuing art. Sulayao mastered art by creating monochromatic artworks and exploring various art styles.

In around 2016, Sulayao started practicing blending and using colors with colored pencils and acrylic paint to surpass his limitations and expand his knowledge in art.

Behind the lingering doubts and fear as a colorblind artist, Sulayao kept practicing for years until he became familiar with mixing and blending the right colors.

“It’s a big achievement for me to be able to create colored artworks because I think that if I can do it, I’ll be able to explore more different styles, and I’ll be able to deliver better the artistic concepts I have thought of,” Sulayao expressed.

He also encouraged aspiring artists never to be afraid to pursue goals, no matter how difficult they seem, because those will give them experiences that will help them improve at art.

Sulayao accepts painting and mural commissions. Interested clients may contact him on his Facebook page, The Art of Charlie Sulayao, or his Instagram account, @theartofcharliesulayao.