eauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Just ask Josh Laughlin.The 31-year-old Tamaqua native can draw practically anything - from puppies and peacocks to the late Pope John Paul II.His artwork is masterfully colored, depicting a vibrant scene in watercolor, oils, pastels, ink, colored pencils or charcoal.But Laughlin has a secret that he uses daily to challenge himself.He is colorblind."I've been doing art pretty much all my life," he said. "I find it very relaxing. Growing up with my grandparents, it was something I learned to do. My grandfather, he was in art with mechanical engineering and drafting, and my father had a background in drawing, so I think art was always done around the house."Laughlin enjoyed dabbling in all mediums and started really honing in on his skills while a student at Marian Catholic High School.At age 19, the high school senior created a pencil and pastel portrait of Pope John Paul II and presented it to Marian to hang in the school's lobby.He went on to earn an associate degree in graphic design from the Schuylkill Institute of Business and Technology in Pottsville in 2007, hoping to one day put his talent to work.Fast forward a decade and Laughlin is doing just that.In his spare time, when he isn't working as a car host or narrator at Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway in Jim Thorpe, many can find him sitting at his table, drawing everything from animals to trains to family portraits and Marvel comic book characters."Comic book characters and trains are my favorite things to do," he said, "but I can draw pretty much anything."He has partnered with the Minersville Train Station on Project 113, drawing Locomotive 113 and selling a framed original print of the engine. Prints of the drawing are also now available for sale at the station during various events.But this year after visiting a walk-in art exhibit on Muhammad Ali, Laughlin decided to challenge himself with a new medium - watercolor."I noticed a lot of walk-in art centers display a lot of watercolors," he said. "That kind of got me wanting to do it."The fact that he is colorblind made his challenge a little more interesting, he said, noting that he has to first lay out and paint the colors to see how they would lay on a separate paper before putting brush to drawing."It's a lot with the shades and colors," he said. "When I first bought my color palette, I had to paint everything out to see how the colors looked because I visually can't see the colors. Then I mark it down so I know where to start and where to end."When it comes to blending colors, that's when I have the trouble," Laughlin added. "I try to keep to a solid color, but even stand-alone colors, depending on the shade, I can't see."So far, the images he has produced are spot on when it comes to depicting the colors.The interesting fact about Laughlin's artwork, in addition to the detail that each drawing contains, is the fact that he tries to use four colors maximum.When looking at one of Laughlin's drawings, most people don't pick up on this at first, he said, pointing out that in a watercolor commission drawing of the Reading and Northern RDC trains, he used only green, blue, gray and an orange-red.When he's not drawing though, Laughlin's other passion shines through - trains and history.A few years ago, the then-new car host atthe scenic railway found that visitors inquired frequently about not only the train ride they were on, but the history of the area surrounding the railroad.After numerous questions, he has compiled a book that he one day hopes to publish, with the help of local historians and photographers on the history of the rail line from the former Lehigh Valley Railroad Station to White Haven and the Hometown High Bridge.He has a Facebook page called J.M. Laughlin Artwork of The Ages and posts photos of what he is working on in various stages of completion. People can contact him there to commission their own masterpiece.Laughlin also said that he would hope to one day be able to showcase his artwork in a gallery showing, but until then, he is enjoying doing commissioned work for anyone who wants a piece of unique artwork, and is currently showcasing some of his comic book art at the Tamaqua Area Library until May 30.He will be doing a live drawing for a Free Comic Book event at the library on May 6.