The Last Painting of Pedro D. Villadolid
Pedro D. Villadolid, Waterfalls, 1979, Oil on Masonite, 24"x42", Private Collection Pedro D. Villadolid (6 October 1916- 7 August 1980) loved nature. He was a self taught painter who worked with actual subjects but added elements from his fertile and wild imagination. In this painting we see lush autumn tree colors not seen in our country and two deers with long antlers, non-existent in Bantayan island , Cebu . He loved birds in flock-of-seven and here, we see them perched on a branch (right tree), on a rock (beside middle tree) and in flight (left tree). This flock-of-seven bird pattern can also be seen in his 1953 Farm scene , 1976 Forest , and in this painting. His trees appear crooked and asymmetrical, the rock formations unrealistic. "He paints with apparent disregard for proportion or natural coloration. His subjects architecture were free, loose with bright gay colored patterns", writes Manuel Duldulao in his famous 1982 book, A Century of Re