Pando Afable: prolific blind artist
Fernando “Pando” Afable of Tuy, Batangas, is legally blind, but this condition did not deter him from doing what he loves most, which is to create beauty through art.
His vision is only 10 percent due to glaucoma—diagnosed when he was a college student studying interior design at the University of Santo Tomas—but he continues to create works in various forms and mediums.
He is adept in oil, acrylic, pastel, wood, wire, and other materials such as coffee in a career that has seen him as a painter, sculptor, and designer.
Afable comes from a family of artists. His siblings Antonio Jr., Ana Marie, Ana Belle, and Manny as well as their mother Anacoreta, aunt Aurora Afable-Lim, and cousins Pilar Adrias and Roberto Robles are all visual artists.
In 1993, Afable cofounded the local art group Pintor Kulapol, composed of artists not only from Tuy but also from the nearby towns of Nasugbu, Lian, and Balayan.
He largely paints and sculpts in the traditional style, presenting the rich culture and traditions of his province in his works.
Afable belongs to the Apacible clan of Balayan and Tuy, which produced the propagandist, nationalist, and former Batangas governor Galicano Apacible (1864-1949).
In the late 1990s, he designed for free the church of Tuy as well as its interior elements and stained-glass panels. Along with members of Pintor Kulapol, they painted the murals containing biblical scenes adorning the interior of the church.
He also redesigned the town’s Rizal Monument at the plaza in front of the church.
Sense of touch
As the coowner of the Tuy Arts and Designs social enterprise, he executes the designs of its artisanal paper products made mainly from recycled abaca wastes. These include bags, chandeliers, picture frames, dishes, coasters, and other home accents.
Afable is one of more than a hundred visual artists from Batangas featured in the “Bintana” art book copublished by Diwa Learning Systems Inc. and University Press of First Asia last year.
In that book, artist-writer Beatrice Dodman describes him as a diligent, resilient, and multifaceted artist who pushed beyond boundaries for him to develop mastery of various mediums.
“To aid his profound desire to create art with 10-percent eyesight remaining, his sense of touch fortifies the decline of what his eyes can see,” she notes.
“From countless paintings to sculptures, his contribution is not only his art, but most importantly, his heartwarming life story and quiet strength that will continue to inspire the next generation of artists,” she added.
Artist, craftsman, and cultural worker, Afable is an embodiment of the spirit of positivity and never-say-die attitude despite huge challenges.
His art showcases his humble demeanor and love for his craft and his town, exuding a sense of pride and identity.
His works, as well as those of his group, are on view at the Tuy Art Hub and Gallery located at the second floor of Casa Antonio, Rizal corner Calingasan streets, Poblacion, Tuy, Batangas.
