Celso Pepito's Pen and Ink Sketches (1983)
Celso Duazo Pepito’s 1983 pen-and-ink sketches—I Need Shelter, Sailing Beyond, and Internal Needs- represent a highly developmental milestone in the early carreer of the celebrated Cebuano Master. Created just two years after he graduated with a Fine Arts degree from the University of the Philippines Cebu (1981), this series captures his raw draftsman skills before his eventual mid-1990s transition into his trademark "three planar" cubist style.
During this period, Pepito constantly traveled, keeping a sketchpad with him at all times to master his line work and build confidence. The overarching description of these three pieces highlights the intersection of form and early philosophical thought
1. I Need Shelter
Visual Style: Heavy reliance on dense, structural line work. Pepito uses deliberate hatching and cross-hatching to build shadows, weight, and depth.
Thematic Core: This sketch captures vulnerability and human dependence. It showcases an early framing of what would become a lifelong obsession for the artist: the central role of family and security. The lines contour a primal human desire for protection, safety, and a foundational home.
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| 5.25"x 5.25", Pen and Ink, 1983 |
2. Sailing Beyond
Visual Style: Dominated by sweeping, dynamic strokes that evoke fluid movement. Unlike the confined space of I Need Shelter, this drawing utilizes open negative space to create a horizon line, capturing the vastness of travel and exploration.
Thematic Core: Rendered during a time when Pepito was actively traveling to build his identity, the piece serves as a visual metaphor for ambition, transit, and foresight. The "sailing" motif mirrors the literal sea journeys common to Visayan life while conceptually reaching out toward professional and spiritual growth.
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| 5.25"x 5.25", Pen and Ink, 1983 |
3. Internal Needs
Visual Style: Highly introspective and expressive, leaning away from pure realism toward early abstraction or figurative distortion. The ink strokes are more urgent, tight, and interwoven, mapping out an interior psychological space rather than an external landscape.
Thematic Core: This piece reflects the artist's burgeoning spiritual foundation. It addresses the hunger of the human soul for things beyond physical survival—predating his later absolute focus on the Divine. It visualizes the internal tension between worldly survival and a higher, spiritual purpose.
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| 5.25"x 5.25", Pen and Ink, 1983 |
In 1983, Pepito was working under the lingering stylistic shadow of his legendary mentor, Martino Abellana (the "Dean of Cebuano Painters"). These sketches show an impeccable mastery of crisp, clean contours and analytical line discipline.
While they lack the bright, vibrant palettes and the iconic octagons of his later acrylic works, they lay the structural groundwork for his philosophy: utilizing raw, naked lines to confront the essential values of human existence, faith, and survival.
