Meet the correspondents: MADRID > Toño Fernández

“I showed a passion for drawing from an early age, standing out among my peers for my capacity to express what I was observing. I still remember the day when my teacher grounded me because she asked us to draw a swan and she said I had traced it. One day she asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I answered without hesitation: “I want to be a fireman.”

I worked hard and in 2003 I passed the exams to join the Madrid Fire Department. Around the same time, I began to explore my artistic abilities more seriously. I took an illustration course and developed a passionate interest in comics, illustration and traditional animation.

Now I combine my work as a firefighter with my love for capturing images. During the free time, I draw for pleasure without having to make a living out of it.

I can’t find anything else that makes me feel a comparable emotion than when I stop to look around me and start drawing.”

• Toño’s blog.