Cebuano Artists Painting Collection- Pedro D. Villadolid

-

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.  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 Pedro and myself, Pepe divulged. 

 

Pedro Desamparado Villadolid

Pedro   (6 October 1916 - 7 August 1980) was a bodegero (warehouse man) and when not working, he would peddle Balsicas' work. Just like most artists from the smaller islands in our country, Pedro was unschooled and self-taught. His paintings were from actual subjects with added elements from his vivid imagination. "He paints with apparent disregard for proportion or natural coloration.  His subjects architecture were free, loose with bright gay colored patterns. His substitution of lively ideograms for natural appearances makes him an intense hunter for the modern idiom. Villadolid is not several molds removed from Austria, Belleza or Antonio", wrote Manuel D. Duldulao in his 1982 book, A Century of Realism in Philippine Art. 

"Pedro Villadolid's state of mind was connected to the innocence and touching simplicity of Miro, Gauguin and even Picasso himself, who declared at one time that the more mature he got, the more he painted like a child", he added.

 

Pedro D. Villadolid  Pencil Sketch by his son Jose
 


Balsicas B. Villadolid

Balsicas was Jose's younger brother. "My uncle Diosdado, who taught me the rudiments of painting, used to say that in a few years Balsicas will be better than me and my father", Jose said. Then one day, Diosdado saw one of Balsicas' work - a seascape - he gasped and declared, "hands down, he is now the best amongst us!"

Balsicas however, was not able to continue painting for long because he became sickly at a young age and eventually died at 42. But in his few years of painting, he had considerable output because he had the noteworthy talent to paint several paintings simultaneously and would  do so incessantly to the point of lunacy; he was mentally disturbed and would not even eat for days just to paint.

Pepe added that he only knew a handful of people who personally owned Balsicas' paintings. Almost all his art works were sold to a rich Chinese businessman in Cebu. "At that time, we desperately needed money for my brother's recurrent medical expenses, and the Chinese collector was kind enough to lend us money initially and eventually bought all Basilcas' available paintings when it was offered to him". He also acquired several paintings of Diosdado. This explains the scarcity of their works. This collector has long died and his widow is taking care of this precious collection. "One of the well known collectors  of Balsicas' work was Jaime Laya," Central Bank Governor of the Philippines from 1981 to 1984, he added.

Now it can be told that Pedro Villadolid was an excellent self taught painter who sold his pieces mainly in Mandaue and Consolacion. This was where my parents met him and commissioned him to create paintings for our new house back in 1975. 


Jose "Pepe" B.  Villadolid

With a well paying job as an advertising contractor for the Coca Cola Bottling Company and San Miguel Corporation for 30 years, Jose "Pepe" Villadolid only began to paint seriously in the late 80's, joining  painting sorties  with his fellow Cebuano artists to the provincial countryside where he developed his love for landscapes and seascapes. 

After meeting Romulo "Mulong" Galicano who gave him a lot of pointers in 1991, he decided to become a dedicated  painter and had since participated in various local, national and international shows. He had group and one man shows in Cebu City Museum, New York, San Diego and several times at the SM Art Center. In 1996, He won the Grand Prize for the Martino Abellana Painting Competition.

In 2010, his works, together with now prominent artists who were once students of Romulo Galicano like Florentino "Jun" Impas, Carlos "Carly" Florido, Jonathan Galicano, Publio "Boy" Briones and Facundo "Dodong" Tallo Jr. - were featured in Bag-ong Hinan-aw (New Perspective), a Contemporary Cebuano Figurative Painting Exhibit. 

Now at 77 years of age, he continues to paint and currently owns and manages a small gallery in Talisay City, Cebu.

Two of Pedro Villadolids works were featured in the book A Century of Realism in Philippine Art by Manuel D. Duldulao.

 


Pedro D. Villadolid, Farm Scene 1953, Oil in masonite, 23 x 31, p.218, A Century of Realism in Philippine Art 1982, Mr. and Mrs. Reynaldo R. Evangelista Collection  


Pedro D. Villadolid, Vinta, 1962, Oil in masonite, 23 x 45, p. 227, A Century of Realism in Philippine Art, Mr and Mrs. K. E. Soon Collection


Popular posts from this blog

Cebuano Artists Painting Collection- Celso Duazo Pepito

-
Image
The Will to Live 2021, ( Autostereogram )     When we look and appraise a painting by color blind Master artist Celso Duazo Pepito , one will immediately come face to face with a brilliantly made work of art.    He was born 54 years ago on the 22nd of November in Daan Bantayan , Cebu . He plunged into the world of art as a young man who showed special skills in lettering . He was surprised when he steps into the halls of the University of the Philippines that the fine arts course was after all about painting. His painting career soon took off soon after college.    There were years of facing struggles hurdling one trial after another. But, like college education, experience is considered as the best teacher. His paintings are known to contain imagery that is brought to life by crisp and clear lines, bold strokes and his usual usage of bright color scheming. But deep within his subjects are personal motives and intentions that come from his heart. The man is with a mission he
Read more

Rodolfo S. Cornejo on Stamp

-
Image
Rodolfo S. Cornejo is the first Filipino composer who received an honory degree from a government recognized music school in the United States . He is also remarkable for his pianistic and compositional know-how by improvising a piano composition at the spur of the moment.   He was born on 15 May 1909 in Singalong, Manila . At the age of six, he had his formal piano lessons. After 2 years, he played fourteen pieces and six encores for his recital. In that same year, he became the organist of the Pasay Catholic Church when they moved in. When he was ten, he composed a piano piece entitled, "Glissando Waltz". He became so keen and inspired about music by his mother's genuine support.    At 13, he composed the "Salute", a military march that was also published. He also composed the Philippine Suite: Paalam sa Pagakadalaga , Okaka Variations , Paalam na Sinta , Oriental Fantasy , Nocturne in G, Piano Concerto no. 1 , and the Moro Wedding Dance . At 14, twenty
Read more

Glimpses of Old Cebu: Images of the Colonial Era

-
Image
" Glimpses of Old Cebu: Images of the Colonial Era " is a 276-page coffee table book of nearly 600 of the best photographs , postcards , stereoviews and lantern glass slides of Cebu and its many towns taken between 1870-1945. More than just a mere showcasing of rare, never-before-seen images, the book also provides a treasure trove of information accompanying nearly every picture. The author, Lucy Urgello Miller has been collecting vintage Philippine postcards and photographs for over 20 years, the thrust of her collection being Cebu . She acquired 90% of her Cebu collection in the United States where she is living with her husband Richard "Rick" Miller. Most of the collection was bought at antique postcards shows. Lucy has about 1,000 pictures and postcards on Cebu but she selected only the best and most interesting for this book. Mommy Gingging, Lucy and my wife Grace A blue-blooded Theresian, Lucy spent her entire education from kind
Read more

Cebuano Artists Painting Collection- Cesar Castillo

-
Image
Cesar Castillo was born and raised in Cebu City . Though he had shown interest in arts, he ended up taking Mechanical Engineering course in the University of the Visayas in 1986 just to fulfill the request of his parents. After graduation, he worked as a quality controller in the glass plant department of San Miguel Corporation , Cebu branch situated in Mandaue City   Though busy with his works, he always found time to develop his artistic skills, turning his free time into opportunities for learning.    As his artistic quest evolved, he started to find self-confidence in every painting he created thus giving him the privilege to slowly expose his art to Cebu's art patron and enthusiast. His first art teacher was Cebuano master cubist , Celso Duazo Pepito but he was personally mentored by Jose Kimsoy Yap Jr. , who taught him the notion of "less is more" and "not all has to be seen".   Giving in to the clamor for artistic expression, Cesar  Castillo
Read more

Cebuano Artists Painting Collection- Billy Pomida

-
Image
Born in the island of Samar in the Philippines on July 11, 1963, Billy Pomida started the rudiments of drawing at a young age which inspired him to take up Fine Arts in college at the University of the East in Manila .    In 1986, he worked as a graphic designer for a government research institution before devoting to full-time painting in 2001. Since then, he has participated in numerous group exhibitions in different places in the Philippines and a series of Three-Man Shows in the United States in 2002.    Parola sa Liloan, Watercolor, 2009 He has won numerous awards, among of which are the following: One of the Top Five Watercolorists for 2001 and 2007 and the runner-up for the 2008 in the Kulay sa Tubig Annual Invitational Watercolor Competition and Exhibition in Manila, Grand Prize , Cebu Arts Association 70th Anniversary Painting Competition in 2007, Grand Prize , President Ramon Magsaysay Death Anniversary Painting Contest, Grand Prize , Dona Modesta Gais
Read more

Manuel H. Bernabe on Stamps

-
Image
Manuel H. Bernabe (1890-1960) “King of Balagtasan ” in Spanish was a poet, linguist and politician, Manuel Bernabe was born on February 17, 1890 to Timoteo Bernabe and Emilia Hernandez of Paranaque, Rizal .   At the age of 10, he already started writing verses. He studied at the Ateneo de Manila where he finished his Bachelor of Arts degree with high academic standing in 1907, and then took up law at the University of Santo Tomas , but not able to took up the bar exams. In 1910, Manuel’s first poem was published in the Renacimento Filipino.   In 1912, he translated Virgil’s Aenid from Latin to Spanish. In 1913, he received an award for his poems: “Himno al Sagado Corazon de Jesus (Hymn to the Sacred Heart of Jesus ), “El Zapote,” and “Espana a Filipinas”.   In 1912, he joined the staff of La Democracia and in 1918, of La Vanguardia of the Roces Publications . He was a columnist but from time to time he also published poems and short stories in the magazine Exelsior.   Manuel al
Read more

Vicente Fabella on Stamps

-
Image
Vicente F. Fabell a (1891-1959). Educator, economist, civic leader and the first Filipino certified public accountant . He was the founder of Jose Rizal College .  He was born on May 7, 1891 in Pagsanjan , Laguna , the third of six children of Juan Fabella, who served as mayor of Pagsanjan during the Spanish and American regimes, and Damiana Fernandez.    He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the Philippines in 1912 and then continued his studies in the United States, obtaining concurrent degrees of bachelor of philosophy from the University of Chicago and diploma in commerce from Northwestern University in 1915. That same year, he became a certified public accountant in the state of Wisconsin .   In 1916, upon his return to the Philippines, he became a professional lecturer in accounting and auditing at the University of the Philippines . At the same time, he opened the accounting firm, Vicente Fabella and Company.   He was instrumental in the founding
Read more