Prophecykeepers - Jay Lonewolf, Colorblind Apache Painter

Jay Lonewolf Morales is an astonishing painter that suffers from monochromacy – complete color blindness — the rarest and most uncommon form of color blindness. He is one of only five in the world that suffers from achromatopsia, or rod monochromacy, which also affects sensitivity to light. The artist can only see in black and white and shades of grey, yet all of his paintings are done with vivid colors.

As Morales puts it, he has the eyes of a cat, but he sees like a dog. But even dogs can see some color.

Jay doesn’t permit others into his studio while he works. “I cry every time I paint because I cannot enjoy the pigments of my labor. My realm resides in shades, with the creative independence of free flowing serenity.” says Jay. “I can’t see what I’m doing. My hands flail around half-hazardly. I’m trying to create what I call my children.”

When Jay Lonewolf was 7 and living in Cochecton, N.Y., he would watch his grandfather paint. One day he took Jay to Prospect Park in Brooklyn and set him up with canvas and a large sketch pad with paints. His grandfather glanced and noticed he was painting the same thing as he was only in unusual colors that weren’t natural to nature. He screamed with glee and showed his parents, who decided to enroll him in an art school for the gifted.