The idea was hatched over breakfast last December, when Malang asked Onglepho about his birthday (their birthdays are on the 20th and 19th, respectively). With Manansala’s birthday just a couple of days later, Malang thought it would be special to hold an exhibit in honor of the late National Artist. The name of Cris Cruz (whose birthday is on the 27th) came up shortly.
Born on Jan. 22, 1910, in Macabebe, Pampanga, Manansala was the second of eight children. He received his first formal lessons in drawing from UP instructor Ramon Peralta when he was just 15. His early gifts led him to work on movie posters. In 1930, he was the youngest UP School of Fine Arts graduate in his class.
Manansala was born when very few gave value to acquiring artworks. His first sale was a pastel entitled "Broken Vase," which he valued at P30, and was even payable in six installments. Yet his buyer even failed to pay him in full.
This did not discourage him, and he even took on a French government-sponsored scholarship to the Ecole de Beaux Arts of the University of Paris in 1950. He went home the following year and started teaching at UST. He mounted his first one-man show at the Manila Hotel Rotary Room in 1951 with great expectation but little to smile about after guests refused to pay P20 for a piece of work.
Twenty years later, his fortunes would turn around, making him one of the most-sought-after artists in the country. Manansala’s blank canvases were snapped up by future owners who were willing to pay any price – the last piece from the first one-man exhibit was sold for P80,000. His themes included barung-barongs, Mother and Child and landscapes, using a variety of mediums, from oil, pastel, watercolor to mixed media, and even wood sculpture.
Cris Cruz met Manansala just once, as his father, Ciriaco Cruz, also dabbled in painting. The younger Cruz knew that Manansala wasn’t the type who’d openly welcome newcomers into his circle unless he showed promise. He was very glad that Manansala warmed up to him, and even offered advice. He found out that Manansala, just like him, also enjoyed playing chess in his leisure time.
As Cruz went from advertising to painting full-time, he has always admired Manansala’s use of vibrant colors. "Kakaiba ’yung mga strokes niya kahit oil ang gamit niya," he observed. He now renders his own flowers as if they were freshly picked.
Cruz knew that Manansala had his own circle of friends but meeting him, though briefly, was a moment he would never forget, remembering that Manansala encouraged him to keep painting. He eventually became the head of the Saturday Group of Artists.
Onglepho, on the other hand, long wanted to meet Manansala when he was still teaching at UST. Onglepho, then a UST student, was at the same time dean of the Pasay Chinese School, and they never ran into each other then. He would never give up until he had the chance to see one of the greats at work. Along with his artist-schoolmates, he went to visit Manansala who was then residing in Quezon City in the late 50s.
While James went on to pursue painting, he would take time off in the ’70s to write about Filipino masters in the Taipei-based Artist Magazine. He and Manansala would meet like long lost friends. Manansala, then residing in Binangonan, Rizal, would greet him in 1970: "Matagal na tayong hindi nagkita. Bata ka pa rin, pero ako di pa rin tumatanda." They would talk about that very first one-man show in 1951 where no one was willing to pay P20 for a Manansala piece.
The old man told Onglepho that he had to make his own frames because he simply could not afford the extra expense with the early lukewarm sales of his works. But painting was Manansala’s life, as it was Juan Luna’s, whom Manansala admired very much, Onglepho tells about the master. He vividly recalls how Manansala wanted to live 10 years longer when they last spoke: "Marami pa akong gagawin."
Onglepho’s hard work paid off, too. A former Chinese immigrant and now a naturalized Filipino, his dream to become a painter was realized through constant attempts at getting better, to capture nature as far as his imagination will allow.
His trip to China in 1989 took him to the Yellow Mountain, one of his greatest inspirations. For decades, he became known for lotuses and landscapes, but he is not stopping there. He opened the Asia Art Gallery at the Shangri-La Plaza in 1994, where he also holds yearly one-man shows, for friends and art enthusiasts alike. His new collection of barung-barongs and seascapes, done in colored pencil on rice paper, shows that he isn’t just copying earlier masters, but rendering his own strokes on a beloved Filipino subject like the barung-barong.
Malang, for his part, felt he saw how important discipline was to a painter through Manansala. He may have painted a thousand gouache paintings on women, but he still treats every canvas as if he’s doing it for the first time, with curious, child-like imagination, and instincts that are the envy of many. Malang compares the time he devotes to painting to a serious golfer wanting to lift his game a notch.
"You (continuously) enjoy doing it. Kahit mag-isa ka lang," he says.
He recalls seeing Manansala when he was just starting to get into painting, then working with comic strips. Malang saw someone who loved to paint everyday, and never grew tired of it. He admired how Manansala used watercolor, which he acknowledges is not easy to master, and his facility with other mediums. He figures that Manansala has set such a worthy example, and he’s thankful that he picked up a few good pointers, including a few signature Manansala pieces (some of which are part of the exhibit).