The Anthem Philatelist

  One of the "desirable" things the pandemic accorded us was solitude. Solitude brings silence, and with silence comes stillness. Silence ( Matthew 6:5-8 ) eliminates the external secular noise, and stillness ( Psalm 46:10 ) the internal mental chatter (guilt, worry, too busy with earthly concerns). These attenuates the voices of the flesh; worship becomes effortless and  the mind more attuned to the Spirit of God, making creativity, a shared trait of God and men, conducive.  So for artists, it can be a time to feel lonely, self-pity or it can be the best time to be productive.  Great works of art are created when time abounds and loneliness becomes a great motivator for productivity. These art works are free, spontaneous and uncoerced by unscrupulous collectors or businessmen, and thus comes out extraordinary. With nothing to focus on but their craft, splendid and stunning works are created. Our artists were branded as " non-essential " during the pandemic and du

Pedro D. Villadolid , Forest, 1976, Oil on masonite 36" x 60", Avanzado family collection At 3x5 feet, this 1976 painting by little known painter from Bantayan Island , Cebu , Pedro Villadolid is the biggest known work of the artist to date.  I grew up looking at this painting everyday. This commissioned landscape art piece adorned our main living room,  another beautiful seascape version hung in my parents bedroom, a third piece - a still life - could be found in our dining room, and a fourth - a flower in a vase in front of the bar. Not much is known about this Cebuano painter who had the exceptional God-given talent for the arts but only started painting later in life.  His son Jose "Pepe" Villadolid , also a notable painter in Cebu recalls, "he didn't start painting seriously until my younger brother Balsicas got sick".  Balsicas was the most talented among the Villadolid painters that included my uncle Diosdado "Diovil" , my father Pe

Wenceslao "Tito" Cuevas (Sep 2, 1938 –Mar 19, 2012)  is considered as the father of Cebuano abstract expressionism .  In the 70's, after visiting the Museum of Modern Art in New York , he was inspired by the works of Franz Kline and Mark Rothko .  He started doing his style of abstract expressionism and prodded his Cebuano contemporaries to cut back painting in the realist - impressionist manner and create something different. This was one of the reasons why Celso Pepito was inspired to try cubism. He also dabbled on abstract expressionism as a Fine Arts student and even made it his thesis in UP Cebu .  Pepito considers Cuevas  as the Father of Modern Cebuano Art - by modern he meant non- traditional painting. During this time, Cebu was not ready for abstract expressionism and his paintings were generally disliked and bought only by a few select group of unconventional collectors.   Today, his paintings are well sought after both locally and internationally. A ba

JOSEPH JOEL CRISTOBAL is a nonconformist artist who started as a professional nomadic music aficionado and landed as a free spirited creative painter.  His love for music brought him to various places away from home, honed his artistic inclinations in beats and tempos, that made the world hear his silence in sweet tones and rhythms.   As he journeyed throughout his own self-discovery, he was fortunate enough to have met a mentor who set his intrinsic aptitude in sketching into motion. Since then, and by virtue of  persistence, unwavering self-belief and dedication, he pursued to paint in the impressionist manner and eventually developed his own style in Cubism. As he metamorphosed from a music artist to a thriving visual artist, his works were viewed and bought through scads of group and solo art exhibits he joined since 1998.   As his way of giving back to society, he gives art workshops to children in his hometown, Tanay, and in some other places in the Philippines. His works were

I t is always a source of joy and pride for artists to exhibit their work globally and to personally interact and showcase their art pieces with people who are interested.  Such an opportunity came to a prominent 46 year old visual artist from Punta Princesa, Cebu City, Marlowe Toledo Villagonzalo . Together with master Cebuano cubist Celso Duazo Pepito , his equally talented wife Fe Madrid Pepito , and notable US based Filipino artists, Luis Caraos , Romeo Cortes Jr . and Bobby T. Yalong, they will present Shared Vision, an art exhibit in New York City USA, from September 17-30, 2022. As a distinguished mid career artist who has been carving a name to become an established artist in Cebu and the Philippines, Marlowe needed a platform to elevate his artistry and present his talent to the world.  "New York is one of the places where dreams can become reality. This is a memorable one for me and marks a milestone in my art journey.  My artwork is my life, it is my expression and fre

    One of the youngest emerging artists making waves both locally and internationally is a 20 year old native of Danao City, who is currently living in Carmen , Cebu . His name is Leodito Rosales Bongo III.   Currently a Fine Arts student of the University of the Philippines Cebu, he was also a  personal student of Master Cubist Celso Duazo Pepito since 2020. He  garnered several local and international awards for his art and was the champion of the 7th World Youth Art Festival 2020 in South Korea . He started creating art when he was in grade 3 but did not take it seriously until he was 16.    His journey in pursuing his passion for creating art was not easy - with initial opposition from his parents.  He started losing hope because no one believed in him. But God sent him two angels in the person of Sir Paul Llideau and Celso Pepito who started to mentor him and changed his life for good.  He was greatly inspired by these people who prodded him to pursue his dream and guided