Aesthetic inspiration
Beauty inspires people to create. However, it takes an artist to transform beauty into a work of art that can be brought wherever one may go.
This very same drive helped one artist in creating his first three notable artworks that are currently displayed at Plantation Bay Resort and Spa. These works were commissioned around 20 years ago by his friend Emmanuel Gonzalez, Plantation Bay’s resident shareholder. Two decades after, with aesthetics still a driving force, an Onthe-Spot Painting Competition took place at Plantation Bay last Oct. 12 to 16, spearheaded by the only artist ever to have been commissioned by the resort, now the internationally acclaimed artist Romulo Galicano.
The 35 participants from Portrait Artists Society of the Philippines Inc. (Paspi) took on the challenge of painting a masterpiece in only four days, using only the beautiful sights within the resort for their subjects. The artists were given a whole day to look for a theme within the resort. This was how Galicano came up with his painting entitled The Nile View, which shows a part of the resort that existed 20 years ago and which has now been renovated.
The paintings were scrutinized by a panel of judges headed by Gonzalez and Cebu’s finest artists Jose “Kimsoy” Yap, a professor from the University of San Carlos and Cebu Academy of Arts, Mariano Vidal, Adeste Deguilmo and Marlinda Angbetic Tan.
Wilfredo Cañete Jr. bagged P70,000 as the first place winner with his work entitled A Fine Day at
Plantation Bay. Luther Galicano was able to take home P50,000 as the second place winner with his piece entitled Savannah Pool, and P30,000 was awarded to Darby Alcoseba as the third place winner with his piece entitled After the Rain. Ten artists were given a gift certificate of an overnight stay with breakfast for two persons, and P2,500 worth of food and beverage gift certificates as consolation prizes.
In addition, Galicano collaborated for a painting interaction with fellow artists Vidal, Yap and Deguilmo, together with Gonzalez, director of the board Rafael Conejos and public relations officer Andi Lim.
The way of competition is just one of the many things that keep the art industry moving. With the many talented artists of Cebu continuing to hone their skills for the better, the region is assured that the artists are primed to become the cream of the crop.