“L”
Cones and Green Roses
From the Life of James E. Hartley
“Hey Jim,” his older
brother inquired with a knowing smile. “Do you realize that your
shirt doesn’t match your pants?”
“Yes, it does.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“What do you mean?
They’re a great match. And, they’re my favorite pants.”
“Oh, yea? What color are
your pants?”
“They’re tan.”
“No, they’re not.”
“What do you mean
they’re not? What color are they?”
“They’re lime green,”
Richard replied in a tone that communicated clearly without
additional words, “This is hopeless!”
Jim Hartley never wore his
favorite pants again.
He couldn’t tell that
his pants were lime green because he is partially colorblind. He has
a genetic flaw in the “L” cones in his eyes (cones in the retina
that perceive long color wavelengths, such as red). These cones did
not develop properly in his eyes leaving him moderately to severely
“red-green deficient.” Depending on how light or dark the colors
are, or how bright and intense they are, reds, pinks, greens, grays,
purples, browns, and tans can all look alike to him.
The irony is that Jim
loves art and is good at it. Over the years, he has become proficient
in pencil, charcoal, colored pencils, pen and ink, design markers,
pastels (chalk), watercolors, and oil paints.
To adapt to his
disability, Jim has worked hard to learn the academics of color: what
color an object should be (even if he can’t properly see the color
himself), and to learn how to combine colors to achieve the right
effect for normal eyes. Then, as long as the pencils, pens, chalk, or
paints have labels indicating their colors, Jim can generally figure
out how to mix and apply those colors despite his handicap (or he
quietly consults with someone with normal color vision).
Anyone looking at his
artwork would not guess that he is partially colorblind. His
beautiful landscapes in pastels, watercolor, and oil paint decorate
the walls of his home.
On birthdays, Jim’s
family looked forward to one of his custom-illustrated, full-color
banners with their favorite characters.
Similarly, for many years, Jim created delightful cartoon birthday cards for the children of families he was assigned to visit as a home teacher for his church.
He has also illustrated
some eye-grabbing holiday displays for his home.
Jim’s first hint that he
is colorblind was when he was five years old. In kindergarten, his
teacher offered him colored construction paper for an art project.
But to get the paper, he had to tell her was color it was. After
picking out a sheet, he panicked realizing he had no idea what color
it was. A kid behind him came to his rescue by whispering “pink.”
To Jim, it could have been light gray, lavender, light green, or tan.
One day when Jim was in
first grade, he was walking home from school and noticed a rose bush
where the leaves and the flowers were the same color. He made a close
inspection. He knew that leaves are supposed to be green, but he had
never heard of green flowers before. When he got home, he asked his
mom if roses were green. “Of course not,” Mom replied. Then she
hesitated and mumbled, “Oh, dear!” His older brother, Bryan, was
also colorblind in the same way, so Jim’s mother taught him about
his impairment and reassured him that, with help, he could work
around it.
His love for art may have
started as a toddler when his brother, Richard, introduced him to the
fun of redecorating the walls of his parents’ bedroom with crayons.
By second grade, Jim had progressed well beyond scribbling on walls.
He noticed that a classmate could draw a popular cartoon character,
Fred Flintstone, free-hand and without looking at anything. Jim
thought if his classmate could do it, he would learn to do it too.
And he did. That was the start of an enduring love for cartooning.
When Jim was 10, he and
his brother, Richard, joined a weekly art class for kids ages 10 to
15. It was taught by a family friend who was a semi-professional
artist. Both boys continued in those lessons for about two years.
They learned to work with pencil, charcoal, pastels, and oil paints.
(If the teacher ever suspected that Jim was colorblind, she never
mentioned it to anyone.) Those art lessons sparked in Jim and Richard
a life-long love of art.
At age 14, Jim showed such
promising art talent that his parents took out a loan to enroll him
in an art correspondence course offered by the Famous Artists School
for Young People. Famed illustrator, Norman Rockwell, was one of the
founders of the school. For about two years, Jim progressed through
the coursework, mailing assignments to the school in Westport,
Connecticut where various professional artists graded, critiqued, and
returned his art to him. They often complimented him on his use of
color.
He also pursued his art in
junior high school and high school. He drew sports cartoons for the
student newspaper, illustrated covers for the printed programs for
school concerts, and did artwork for the school’s yearbook.
Jim’s secret wish after
high school was to become a Disney artist. He chose to attend Brigham
Young University, but was extremely disappointed to learn that the
school didn't teach illustration or animation at the time. Frustrated
that he wasn’t learning the kind of art he wanted, he left the art
program in his junior year and instead graduated with a bachelor's
degree in German studies and a minor in graphic design.
Despite being
disillusioned with the university’s art program, Jim found a way to
use his art skills to pay for his last three years in college. They
also provided a way for him to fulfill an important agreement he had
made with his father.
At age 19, after his
college freshman year, Jim wanted to serve as a full-time missionary
for two years for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
But he didn’t have the money to pay for it. So, he negotiated an
arrangement with his father: Dad would pay for his mission, if Jim
would pay for the final three years of his college education.
In 1973, after Jim
completed his missionary service, he returned to BYU. Shortly after
the semester began, Jim spotted an employment want ad in the school’s
student newspaper, The Daily Universe. The newspaper was
looking for an art director for its advertising department. He
applied and was interviewed on a Friday. The retiring art director, a
graduating student, wanted to see a portfolio of Jim’s artwork,
which Jim didn’t have. But rather than admit it, Jim simply said he
didn’t have the portfolio with him. If he could come back, he would
bring it the following Monday. Another appointment was made.
Jim hurried to his
apartment to study back-issues of The Daily Universe to see
what kind of artwork they needed. He went to the university bookstore
and bought a portfolio case, drawing paper, and a variety of pens. He
then drew furiously over the weekend. On Monday, he handed in his
portfolio, the ink on his drawings barely dry. The art director was
impressed, immediately showed Jim’s work to the faculty advisor,
and Jim was hired on the spot.
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| Jim at BYU during the 1970s |
It turned out to be one of
the higher paying part-time jobs on campus and Jim was ecstatic! He
was the art director for three years, and it almost paid for all of
his final three years of college. To augment his income, Jim did
freelance illustration for one of the BYU chemistry professors and
for local merchants. He even won a logo design contest, with a cash
award, for BYU Women’s Intramural Sports. Jim felt extremely
blessed, his art ability made it possible to pay for nearly all of
his college, and, just as important, to keep his agreement with his
dad.
Jim’s college art
experience was also the start of many years of freelance illustration
and design work, which paid a lot of family bills as the years went
by.
He has experienced many
embarrassing moments because of his colorblindness, such as when
buying clothing (“Jim, that tie is lavender, not gray.”), cooking
and barbequing (“Someone please tell me if the meat’s cooked
yet!”), looking at scenery (“Really, the trees on the
mountainside have turned red?”), or decorating his home or office
(“What? That’s brown not green?”). He was in a subway once
where the various train lines were color coded. He knew he needed to
take the red line, but could not tell which one it was from the
colors on the sign. Weather maps on the TV news also confuse him. It
is not uncommon for him to lament quietly to his wife, “I wish I
could see colors the way you see them. Hopefully, in the next life
….”
Because of his color
deficiency, he frequently depends on help from others and even from
heaven. Jim has recorded in his private journal several times that
important art projects were rescued by divine intervention. There
were times when a power beyond his own enlightened his mind and even
moved his hands.
There are two profound
verses in the Book of Mormon that have deep personal meaning for Jim:
… I give
unto men weakness that they may be humble; … if they humble
themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak
things become strong unto them. (Ether 12:27-28)
Jim has been given a
talent for art, yet is handicapped by his partial colorblindness.
But, thanks to the grace of God, that handicap has never gotten in
the way of his ability to develop and use that talent to provide for
his family, and to love and serve his family and others through his
art. Truly, for Jim and his art talent, God has made weak things
become strong.
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| Jim Hartley, November 2014 |
April 2019. Originally written by son, Tom Hartley, and revised and edited by Jim Hartley. Reviewed by Jim's brother, Richard Hartley.
Images are original artwork by Jim Hartley himself.