Vivid recollections

CEBU, Philippines - Mrs. Lazo shared that her father usually picked her mother to pose for his pencil sketches. “She often dressed as a typical Filipina – with a bandana and a bunch of fruits or flowers; also, as a mother carrying a child in the countryside.”

“Because Papa saw his family day in and day out, our faces ended up many times in his paintings. Sometimes only one of us posed for him. I still remember how I would spend a few minutes posing in different characters: like a dancing girl or a simple girl with a parol for a Christmas issue of a magazine,” she recounted.

“There were also times when he would simply look at us and before we knew it, he would have already made quick sketches of our hands and feet.”

She also shared that her father concentrated on his paintings everyday, but he always found time to make pencil sketches. “He did most of these at home. Some were however done in other places like Luneta, where he usually went with the family to wait for the sunset; also Marilao and Santa Maria in Bulacan, and Nueva Ecija. He frequented these places where he worked on sketching farmers planting rice, harvesting, winnowing, etcetera.”

Further, Mrs. Lazo emphasized that for every time her father made studies of the farmers, he would always give them some money. “The same was true with our helpers whenever he asked them to do certain poses. He would reason: ‘Kinuha natin sila bilang katulong sa bahay. Dahil ang pag-posing ay hindi kasama sa kasunduan, nararapat lang na bigyan sila ng extrang bayad.’”

“Para sa kanya ang kaunting abala ay malaking utang na loob,” she added. (FREEMAN)