SECURITY GUARD ARTIST

He was not schooled in a formal arts school nor was he participating in poster-making and any other visual art contests in school when he was younger. Godofredo Elangos, Jr., who goes by the nickname Godo, is a security guard by profession and had been working as such for five years now. Although he started drawing for fun when he was a kid, Elangos never had formal arts education. Despite this, his skill really shone and wowed netizens.

He is currently assigned at the University of Mindanao (UM) Ma-a gate entrance. However, before this, he was assigned at UM Matina library. It was during this time that Elangos was able to improve his craft.

“To be honest, it is only here at UM Matina library that I really improved my drawing. I read books and was inspired by what the other artists made especially the one who draws using ballpen,” he said in vernacular during an exclusive interview with SunStar Davao.

He is able to balance his day job with his passion for drawing by making sure that during his free time he gets to draw and practice. Some of the students in the university who have discovered his talent would leave their photos and asked for a caricature. Elangos does not ask for any fee as he knows that the students do not have much money and he would rather have them spend it on their other expenses.

He added that these requests from students also help him to practice and be better. Using only colored ballpens, Elangos is able to draw portraits of people he see on books or the photos left to him.

A Facebook post by one of the university students named Dan Pedrosa last August 28 went viral and caught the attention of a lot of netizens. As of writing, it now has 2,700 shares and 4,200 reacts. It was a photo of Elangos sketching a foreigner woman based on her picture printed on a book. According to Pedrosa he was about enter the university library when he noticed Elangos drawing and immediately asked if he could take a picture. Pedrosa was especially amazed because the security guard was only using pencil and ballpen.

“When he started with us, we really didn’t know he had a talent like that. When I assigned him at the library, that’s when we discovered his talent until such time that he appeared on Facebook. We are proud to have a co-worker like him who is good at drawing,” said UM Detachment Commander Alex Conejar.

Indeed, Elangos proved that one’s business with his current day job could and should not hinder one’s pursuit of passion. Despite his busy schedule, he still finds way to humbly improve his skill.

“When he started with us, we really didn’t know he had a talent like that. When I assigned him at the library, that’s when we discovered his talent until such time that he appeared on Facebook. We are proud to have a co-worker like him who is good at drawing.” UM DETACHMENT COMMANDER ALEX CONEJAR