Portraiture, the summit of painting forms

Every Thursday afternoon, a group of artists get together to paint the portrait of a subject — who could be a beauty queen now, an academician next, a prominent businessman, a nude model, or a woman of leisure a week after. There could be 20 of them working on one model sitting in front of them, and after three hours of quiet, earnest labor, they present their works to the object of their undivided attention, who is thrilled beyond words over how each artist depicts her. Each portrait is like no other — the eyes, the mouth, the lips, the smile and mood, the tilt of the head, some wrinkles even, depend on the eye of the portrait painter.

These artists are members of the Filipino Portrait Artists Guild Inc. which was formally organized, upon the suggestion of Rick de Villa in 2010, by alumni-artists from the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts. The guild is an offshoot of the UP Centennial “100 Nudes” group show and coffee table book organized by the Centennial Artists Group led by UP Alumni Association president Gari Tiongco, now Regent Ponciano Rivera, Jr., author Prof. Ruben Defeo, and artist coordinator Romy Carlos. After a series of sketching sessions during their UP Alumni Artists group show at the Wine Museum, the founding members elected their first set of officers , crafted the guild’s by-laws, and registered it with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

What makes these portrait artists special people? Why do they paint portraits? For many reasons, they told this columnist. To capture the sitter’s likeness, character or soul, to depict mood and atmosphere, to communicate a feeling or message, to decorate, to illustrate or to create. For most artists, portrait painting is a celebration of life and the human spirit, in all its wonder and glory, and learning to paint portraits — considered as the most difficult and summit of all forms of paintings — is a continuing lifetime process.

Now also called FPAGI, the Portrait Guild’s aim is to propagate and promote the art of portraiture and figurative works in the country. Active founding members include Gig de Pio, Sr. (the guild president); Cris Cruz (vice president), Rick de Villa (secretary), Norlie Meimban (treasurer), Anna Vergel (marketing and programs committee), Romy Carlos ( in charge of the membership and legal committee who also sits on the boards of the UPAA and UP College of Fine Arts Foundation), Ding Hidalgo, Ben Infante, Tessie Duldulao and Jonahmar Salvosa. New members are portrait artist Horace Gillego, former Dimasalang Group member Cee Cadid, Dennis Balbaboco, Gandier Bella and Keith Paras. Painter and gallery owner Fred Liongoren designed the classy and elegant FPAGI logo.

To improve and upgrade their skills in portraiture and figures, the artists hold regular on-the-spot portrait or nude sketching sessions in charcoal, pastel, oil, acrylic and watercolor mainly at the Consunji Room of the UP Ang Bahay na Alumni along Magsaysay Avenue at the UP Diliman campus. Now and then they hold critique sessions for constructive criticisms on the just finished portrait sketches to pinpoint areas for improvement on every artist’s work.

In case of group portraits in oil or acrylic, common painting sessions are held for individual and interaction efforts, if and when needed, to ensure quality in all of the works. And collectively through video films showing and discussion or on their own, they continue to study and emulate the masters of traditional portraiture like Rembrandt, Rubens, Velasquez, Goya, Vermeer, Monet, Sorolla, Sargeant, Sanden, Greene, Kisntler, Wyeth and many more. Forays into modern or non-traditional approaches in portraiture like expressionist, cubist, minimal or semi-abstract styles are also welcome in keeping with modern trends.

The first commissioned portrait works in oil on canvas of the FPAGI artists as a group are those of the UPAA presidents which can be viewed at the UPAA board room. They have also held several “paying sitter’s” sessions at the Ayala Alabang Country Club and at the Hotel Intercon for the Catholic Women’s Club, and Rotary Club of Makati. Models have included beauty queens Shamsy Supsup and Diane Necio, Zonta club members, the UP president’s wife who is also a painter – Menchu Pascual, socialite Alice Samson, Alabang Club president Ding Pascual and family; Alabang residents Mr. and Mrs. Jojo Villar, Mrs. Titay Pardo, and Catholic Women’s Guild president Mimi Valerio. To showcase their multi-faceted talents, however, they also hold or join group shows with nature or landscape, seascape, still life, flora and fauna, fantasy, abstraction and other subjects as themes.

Other artists who are fine arts graduates of universities outside the UP must be sponsored by a regular member so they can attend and join the guild’s sketching sessions, meetings and fellowship activities. However, special activities are for members in good standing only such as out-of-town art trips to Tagaytay, Subic, and soon to Los Banos, Baler Art Center, Boracay and Cebu. To date, among the more “senior” FPAGI guest artists are Bing Siochi, Pablo Baen Santos, Caloy Castro, Don Artificio, Pete Ng, Bing Libatique, Mario Panis, Esther Garcia, Marilyn Aquino and Jun Rocha. Some of them, after having attended the required number of interactive sessions, can already file their applications for membership which must be approved by all the founding members. A guest artist is sculptor Hadji Imao.

 Among the countless people who study fine arts, only a few can aspire to become professional artists as painters, sculptors, graphic artists and art teachers like our national artists Arturo Luz and Bencab, Araceli Limcaco-Dans, Juvenal Sanso, Ed Castrillo, Ramon Orlina, Romulo Olazo, Dean Nestor Vinluan, Norberto Caraing, Manny Garibay and Elmer Borlongan. Much fewer still can become established portrait artists like national artists Fernando Amorsolo and Vicente Manansala, and contemporary artists Romulo Galicano, Gig De Pio, Romy Carlos, Ding Hidalgo, Lulu Coching, Norman Sustiger, Canada-based Ed Lantin and Jun Impas of Cebu.

“Portrait painting is still a wide open and very promising arena in our art-loving country and this is what inspires the Portrait Guild artists to learn more and impart to the younger ones the concepts of space, light, value, color, composition and techniques of portrait painting and hone their craft with diligent work or practice and more practice,” says Romy Carlos.

“To be an artist then, and a portrait artist at that,” Romy continues, “is to never stop learning, to do the best of what our ability allows at whatever level, to recognize where we begin and where we go or do from there, to applaud the achievements of our fellow artists, to understand that there is no shortcut to excellence, to realize that we share the same God-given talent, struggle and dream, and to paint or create from the heart and not from the ego as a true artist should.

The Portrait Guild artists, Romy says, “are also aware that the process of portrait painting is a most challenging journey and its pathways are littered with many frustrations and setbacks. But they also know that once the artist overcomes those stumbling blocks, they will also feel the joy and pride of accomplishment.”

For inquires about the Portrait Guild, contact Rick De Villa, through mobile phone 0905-414-5675 or Romy Carlos, 0939-251-2580, or e-mail [email protected] or log on to [email protected].

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