The Anthem Philatelist

Malapascua, Oil on Canvas, 30" x 60", 2022 Born in Talisay City , Cebu, Jonathan Abellana grew up in an environment naturally charged with creativity.  Despite showing a precocious talent for drawing during his school years—frequently relied upon by teachers to paint murals and stage designs—his path to becoming a professional fine artist was far from direct. As a teenager, Abellana spent six years working on a farm in Manila. Far removed from the formal art world, this grueling period paradoxically anchored his creative resolve; he eventually found solace and financial supplement by returning to charcoal drawing. Upon returning to Cebu, he enrolled in a Graphics and Media Design course at the Cebu Institute of Technology University (CIT-U) . However, by his second year, financial constraints combined with a realization that canvas painting offered a deeper fulfillment led him to withdraw from formal schooling. Undeterred by the lack of an academic degree, Abellana embarked...

   As the Philippines is an archipelago, it is very seldom that a group of Filipino artists coming from different regions and with different mindset have an opportunity to be together in one creative endeavor.  Their exposure to dissimilar environment and practicing their art in different direction contributes to the difficulty of uniting them in one exhibit. However, there are instances when artists with different perspectives will come together if only to showcase a variety of artistic expressions, thereby providing the public the opportunity to view, interact and perhaps appreciate the different creative outputs born out of their individuality.    Creative Convergence aims just like that: to attain creative unity, while opting to keep their diverse creative expressions.  It hopes to provide a platform, where they can exercise their freedom in practicing art that truly represents who they are, and what they want to be as painters. Above all, Creative...