News Article

Looking at the big picture


5/21/2010 10:00:27 AM


CNA Visual Arts graduate and self-employed painter, Kevin Kendall, has Protanopia and Deuteranopia, a colour blind condition which means he has trouble differentiating between red, yellow, and green.

To be considered a great painter a person has to master the colour spectrum and understand how the colours blend. That’s a difficult proposition for most artists, but it seemed like an impossibility for Kevin Kendall when he first enrolled in the Visual Arts program at College of the North Atlantic’s Bay St. George campus.

Kendall has Protanopia and Deuteranopia, a colour blind condition which means he has trouble differentiating between red, yellow, and green. While studying at the college Kendall was able to adapt methods that allowed him to be comfortable using these colours in his paintings, despite his condition.

“When I absolutely need to include a colour like green, like for a landscape, I will run my reference photos through Photoshop. Then I use the spectrum guide and selection tool to find the various greens so that I can insert them properly. Then it’s just a matter of determining the shade and tone that I need, as well as the temperature,” Kendall explains.

Kendall was originally raised in Port au Port but ended up spending a great deal of time in Ontario. After a 15-year career in automotive management, Kendall returned to Newfoundland and enrolled in the Visual Arts program.

“My youngest [son] got into a school and then the school was closed because of shootings, so the environment is definitely something I didn’t want him exposed to. Having been raised in Newfoundland, I have no bad memories of being raised here.”

Lorne Bishop was one of Kendall’s instructors at CNA. He helped Kendall adjust to his colour blindness so he could succeed in the program.

“There is this area on the colour wheel that he is not able to work with or perceive,” says Bishop. “I tried as much as possible to persuade him not to use those colours, but Kevin insisted on using them. So, we worked out a strategy together, where looking at the colour wheel he has a sense of where the colours he can’t perceive lie.

“There have been a lot of talented people that have gone through the program, but talent is only one part of the equation. The rest is the drive, ambition, and business savvy to succeed. I think that is where Kevin has the advantage. He has the talent, but he also has those other factors that can make a successful artist. In terms of setting up his business, the way he is going about it to me seems like the right way.”

Since finishing the VA program, Kendall says his creative side has resurfaced and he is already selling his artwork through Kendallight Studios.

"All I think about is the way things are rendered. I’m getting back into playing bass, which was a hobby of mine. Music and the whole artistic side of me are coming out.

“I've actually just started taking commissions this week for paintings and drawings again. I still have a backlog of stuff that people have wanted me to do since Christmas, so I'll be busy for a while.”

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Media Contact:

Roger Hulan
Communications Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
(709) 643-7938
roger.hulan@cna.nl.ca