The Anthem Philatelist

I would never imagined I'd ever have a tatoo in my life. When I was young, I loathed rhe idea of having tatoos- why put graffiti on your body, it's tantamount to desecrating God's creation? Then I read Bantugang Sugbuan chapter on Painted Bodies by Jay Nathan T. Jore that this practice is a Cebuano cultural heritage. "Decorative painting and decoration in general during the precolonial Cebu were "not architectural, rather it was centered in one important entity - the human- body. As a prized possession, the human body is well celebrated ans decorated. Art was a celebration of this humanist attitude, geared towards the endowment of the human body with the implements and ornamentation that mark the bearers with proper distinction in society and command certain roles in community affairs". That notion that tattooing was undesirable was further shattered when I visited Whang-od . I also realized that she being an artist and my body- the canvas, I've become ...

   "A new song, a soulful chant or a simple melody hark back to the senses the obscured movements of nature – the frolicking growth of a bud to a flower, the enthusiastic flow of a forgotten river, the murmurs at the thick of the wilderness where two artists as lovers pause to listen to the humming of indiscernible words, as they imagine better worlds spared from the uncertainties of the present precarious times. In “ Honi ug Banika ”, Cebuano artist-couple Celso Pepito and Fe Madrid bring out their works in a wilderness of hope with this exhibition of recent works made during the grueling period of community quarantine. “ Honi ug Banika ” which translates as ‘melody and nature’ is the couples’ way of contemplation, a necessary exercise of creativity and spirituality that lays open a course of redemptive action amidst the impasse of the pandemic ."       Self Mastery 2021   Mixed Media          ...

If you haven’t yet, catch the art exhibit of renowned Cebu artist Celso Duazo Pepito at the Jose Joya Gallery in the University of the Philippines Cebu, curated by Professor Jay Jore of the College of Communication, Art, and Design. The exhibit, which is titled “Balik Lantaw: Retracing, Reconnecting, Remembering, A Journey in Artmaking,” runs until Friday, January 31, 2020. Celso Pepito is a graduate of BA Fine Arts in the University of the Philippines Cebu in 1981. With the influence of his mentor, Martino Abellana, he started as an impressionist-realist painter, before gradually shifting to modernism. The evolution of his art later produced his own signature style.

Bliss (BooNana) , 15" x 20", Pencil Sketch, 2009 Jose "Kimsoy" Yap Jr . was born on March 7, 1944 in Bindoy , Negros Oriental , Philippines. Graduated from the Cebu Institute of Technology with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Architecture , he then continued and studied painting at the National Academy of Design School of Fine Arts in New York. He also taught at the University of San Carlos and Cebu Academy of Arts.    His art journey started with hardships together with renowned sculptor, painter, novelist and architect Arsenio "Arsing" Abella . In 2017, both had a reunion exhibit, Art Biography at Manila Art Frames - the first gallery they exhibited in 1969. Later, with ease together with eminent Samboan artist  Benji Goyha , whom he bonded owing to a shared vision for art promotion , tourism and mentoring of young Cebuano artists. Both organized art workshops and excursions in Cebu province especially in Goyha's hometown Samboan .   ...