The Anthem Philatelist

  Minglanilla River, 33" x 47", Oil on Canvas, 1986 For some artists, a work art of can become part of themselves and are hard to let go of.  Such is Celso Duazo Pepito 's the Minglanilla River , an oil on canvas painting he created in 1986. During this pre-cubism period, he was obsessed with the use of a palette knife .  " I remember, I consumed almost 2 tubes of 200 ml white oil paints.  That was the time when 200 ml was only 12 pesos", he fondly recalls. Martino Abellana was his foremost influence in understanding the use of color.   " The Law of Simultaneous Contrast that he shared with us in our art class was one great guide in my creativity, understanding the proper use of warm and cool colors, even up to now when i am following the Cubistic style", he said.   "It was great to remember the past in relation to the future as I continue my journey as a painter." Master Celso, why is this painting so close to your heart you're

  Vintage Piece 2, Oil on Canvas 2005   Antonio Vidal's artistic journey began at an early age.  He has shown and discovered his penchant for art even before entering his elementary education.  Born and raised in Puerto Princesa, Cebu , he used to go to his mother to church and got fascinated with the Cherubim , decorating the house of God.  His exposure to religious processions , especially during fiesta celebration, has added up to his intention to draw angels and other spiritually-enriching images.  As he continually joins his mother attending church activities, his strong interest in ecclesiastical arts gradually manifested. With much encouragement and support from his father, Tony decided to enroll in an art workshop in Gallery 90 in Cebu .  With positive guidance and motivation from his mentors, he learned the basic of doing portraiture in black and white providing comfort and ease in this medium.  This led him enrolling at the UP Cebu Fine Arts in 1975. Tony's bound

    My maternal grandparents were from Mainit , Alipao, Alegria, Surigao del Norte .  In the 1930’s, the families of Odtojan , Baluran , Labaso , Senturias , Rubilla and Seroy emerged simultaneously and inhabited the place. Because they were bound by faith and the common vision for a better tomorrow, these families started to cultivate the area of Candiis that had a total land area of not more than 300 hectares.  The first Teniente del Barrio was Alvaro Odtojan Senturias Sr.  who served until the end of the World War II. One of the succeeding Teniente del Barrio was my late aunt Pacensia "Pacing" Odtojan Beniga (Lesoy). Before the war , my grandfather Eugenio Anino Beniga (son of Pantaleon Beniga), a surveyor from Sevilla, Bohol went to Surigao , met and married a pious local beauty, Felina Caerlang Odtojan . They were simple rice farmers who owned and tilled 25 hectares of land in that area.  During my childhood days in the 70's, my fond memories of my visit

" Sketching is already a part of my life since I became a member of the Creative Industry. It started simply to improve on my drawing skills, as advised by the late Julian Jumalon , it became a part of my creative passion in relation to my desire to making use of my time, as productive as possible. Our 10 day latest trip to Malaysia and Singapore were indeed, another exciting journey for me as a painter.   These 13 out of the 25 sketches i have done from Manila to KLIA2 , to Ipoh , to Taiping, to Kuala Kangsar , to Singapore , to KLIA2, to Manila , and to Cebu , were testaments of my fascination in recording my travel, through sketching.   Making this journey was a gift of joy for me, as i have enjoyed every minute I spent in many places we have visited In Malaysia and Singapore.   I am hoping that these 13 sketches will add more fulfillment to a freind who values the importance of collecting sketches!   In the end, i realized that bringing with me my pen, pencil and sketch pa