The house painter who makes a living with the work of Fernando Botero

Carlos Castaño, a native of Antioquia, has reproduced nearly 300 paintings by the remembered master.

ACarlos Castaño has not only had to deal with the name he bears, but also with the pressures and disasters of poverty, violence and exile: humble and patient, with the endurance of a camel and its loads on its back.

At an early age, Castaño discovered his ability as a draftsman. With crayons and pieces of colored pencils he captured on paper what surrounded his rural environment: the countryside of his native Cocorná: nature in its pulp and color, the eagles that came down from the mountain of all greens to ruminate on the waste of neighborhood food, the plaza market party on Sundays.
The teachers who followed and admired his work bought buckets of paint to entrust the "little genius" to decorate the walls of the school. The mayor did not allow himself to be ruined and paid him to embellish the headquarters of his office with his drawings. And the wealthy people of the town, the merchants, the ladies in the beauty salons, and those at home.

It was the teenager's first foray into muralism. Because of his vision and ability, Castaño promised a great future as an artist, but his father, a farmer, did not give much thought to the son's artistic talent because he required him to work in the fields with farming instruments.

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The house painter who makes a living with the work of Fernando Botero